The Fake Bad Boy
by Blue Chocolate Frogs
Summary: At the age of 13, Percy Jackson is forced to change himself by his stepfather, Gabe Ugliano, to hide his abuse in plain sight. Now, at the age of 17, Percy is the definition of a bad boy. But when his path crosses with Annabeth Chase's, will his true self be able to come out again? Or is it too far gone?
1. 4 Years Ago

Hey guys. I'm sorry for not finishing my other story. I got really bad writer's block, but then I got this idea and I decided to try to write about it. Hopefully I will be able to finish the other one. But please read this and let me know how it went.

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 **4 Years Ago**

Pounding. That was all Percy could feel. Fists upon fists raining down on him. Over and over and over. Gabe showing no mercy. Well, was that what he expected? Mercy? After all these years? It wasn't happening. He just needed to get over the silly idea, and accept it.

"I hope you learned your lesson," he breathed drunkenly after the punches finally stopped.

Percy just lay there. All he could do was moan in response.

"I said," Gabe pulled Percy up, for he was small for his age, and he pushed him against the wall, "Did you learn your lesson?"

Percy nodded vigorously and gasped, "Yes Gabe."

"Good."

With that he dropped Percy back to the ground and turned back into the kitchen.

Percy went as fast as he could back upstairs, and laid under his covers waiting for his mom to get home.

He cried himself to sleep.

The next day he was woken up with banging on his door.

"Kid! Wake up! Now!" Gabe shouted.

Percy could barely move to see his alarm clock. It read 1:00 PM.

He got dressed in his room as quickly as possible and quietly went downstairs. He tried to sneak out the backdoor, but Gabe was expecting him.

"Not so fast," he grunted, pushing Percy against the wall.

Percy instantly froze. He hated being pushed against the wall. It was the sign that things were about to get bad.

"You know. I came to a realization last night," he began.

 _Like you could ever have a realization,_ Percy thought.

"If you keep needing lessons, you can't look like this," he said, plucking at Percy's blue hoodie and pointing towards his Converse shoes.

"If you look like a little brat all the time, then people will wonder why you have all these bruises, and wondering leads to unnecessary phone calls which leads to Gabe needing to teach lessons to everybody in the house. Not just little ol' Percy."

Percy's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak.

"Uh uh. Let me finish. I might have to teach you a lesson on that later. But the point! You'll need to change. You can't be sweet little Percy and have these marks. People will think something outrageous like you have a troubled home life! And we both know that's not true. Right?" Gabe asked staring at Percy.

"No Gabe. M-My home life is just fine," Percy said, staring at the ground.

"Good to know we're on the same page. So I'm laying around this morning thinking about our problem, and bing! I've got it! You'll just have to become the "bad boy". It'll work wonders, trust me. People see you with bruises and scars, they'll just think, 'Oh. It's just that kid. He gets in gang fights all the time.' And they'll think nothing of it. Brilliant. The bad boy is a kid that is just there. When he's gone, no one will care. Some people might even be relieved! The teachers hate him because he does terrible in their classes, he doesn't care, and he purposely causes trouble. Passing grades, but no A's or B's. If the teachers like you, they'll start paying attention, and that's bad. Same goes for friends. They pay attention. None of those. But, according to other people, you're a pretty likable kid. So that'll have to change. You'll have to irritate everyone you meet so they'll stay clear of you. We'll work on that later. I think I'll be able to train you pretty well. We'll go today to get you the proper clothes."

Gabe dropped Percy and he stood there stunned. He didn't want to do this. He started backing up towards the back door.

For being a big guy, Gabe had pretty fast reflexes.

"And where do you think you're going when I just told you about all the work we have to do? Now I won't rough you up this time because your image isn't complete and we're about to go in public, but remember next time that one day you might be gone and your mom will be here. I'll be bored and I might miss our times together, so I might just try to recreate them with your mother. Maybe she'll need a lesson too."

Gabe let go of Percy and told him to get in the car, for they were going shopping.

Once Gabe parked the car, Percy spoke up, "Gabe, I don't think we need to do this. I-I can just put on my mom's makeup. No one will know the difference."

"People aren't as stupid as you are Percy."

"Please Gabe. I won't tell anyone, I promise! I-I swear on the River Styx!" Percy yelled, remembering something read from his Greek textbook.

"I don't care about whatever that means. Get into that store before I drag you in by your ears."

He came out with the bad boy works. Leather jacket, black combat boots, as many black T-shirts as he could count, black skinny jeans, and a red beanie.

Percy changed that day. His appearance changed, his personality changed, but he knew that no matter how many masks he had to wear, he would try as hard as he could to keep at least a sliver of himself in his body.

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I know it was short, but it was just an introduction. Let me know how you thought it went please. Reviews are extremely encouraged, good and bad. Thank you everyone, and once again, I am sorry that it has been so long.


	2. The First Day

Hi guys. I appreciated your reviews. Thank you. So here's chapter 2

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 **Percy POV**

 _Beep. Beep. Beep_

"Ah, shut up," Percy said, smacking his hand down on the alarm clock. It read 5:30.

He sat up and put on a black T-shirt, leather jacket, black jeans, and a red beanie. He was ready by 5:48.

He went downstairs and saw his mom by the table, reading a magazine.

"Goodmorning sweetheart," Sally Jackson spoke.

"Hi Mom," Percy said, giving her a quick hug and sitting down beside her.

She looked him up and down and excalaimed, "I see we're still going for the usual. Just saying, I like the blue hoodies better than this jacket."

 _Me too,_ he thought.

Instead he just shrugged and poured himself some coffee.

"Uh uh mister. Coffee stunts your growth," Sally took the mug from him and took a drink from it.

"Mom. I'm 6'1, stunting my growth might be a good thing," he took the mug back and took a sip from it.

"Not on my watch," she took the mug again and poured it into a thermos, "I've got to go sweety. Love you."

Smiling, Percy replied, "Love you too Mom."

He watched her walk out the door and we went back upstairs to get his school things.

School started at 8:00, but he always leaves at 6 when his mom does. He doesn't like to take a chance on waking Gabe up and being a punching bag before school. Or basically anytime he's at home. He's only home when his mom is. Gabe won't hurt her if he's got a distraction.

He checked in the mirror to make sure he wasn't bleeding from a busted open wound. That happened once. He had to make up a story about how he stabbed himself with his pen just to see what would happen. They bought it. Bad boys are reckless.

He was good, no bleeding. Just a bruise by his eye and a scratch or two. He ruffled up his hair. It was black and skater-style.

He grabbed his headphones, phone, swim bag, and school bag and he was off.

From his house, he walked the couple miles to Goode High School, which was anything but good in his opinion.

When he got there it was around 7:00. He still had an hour to blow.

He usually just sits on the bench in the very front of the school and people watches while listening to music. So that's what he did today.

People started filtering in around 7:25. They were a bit early, but it was the first day of the school year.

Percy saw a few new kids and plenty of the old dirt bags. They all gave him dirty stares as they walked past. He just stared right back. Of course they coudln't see this because he had his sunglasses on. He always had his sunglasses on.

He thought that eyes give away everything a person's thinking, and he was afraid someone might use his eyes against him.

They were pretty cool glasses in his opinion. Dark aviators. They were his favorite. He didn't even take them off in class.

Around 7:40 was when people really started filtering in. No matter how high he turned his music up, he could always hear parents telling their kids to hurry up, for they don't want to be late on the first day.

He closed his eyes. He didn't want to see people with their perfect families and perfect lives.

 _Well guess what? They're not perfect. Nobody's perfect. Hannah Montana told me so,_ he thought grumpily.

Someone tapped his shoulder.

"Hey. You know school's starting in like a minute, right?"

Percy sighed and opened his eyes. He stared straight into the beautiful gray eyes of what seemed to be, a princess.

She was beautiful. She had curly blonde hair that he immediately wanted to touch, and a small dusting of freckles across her nose. She had the most magnificent eyes he had ever seen. They were so steely and gray like the clouds, but they were looking at him in such a way it made it seem like she was reading him like an open book. He wanted to take his glasses off and just show her his eyes and drop the mask.

She was definitely new. She wouldn't approach him if she wasn't, and he would definitely remember her.

"Well aware, thanks," he said, turning away from her slightly.

She raised her eyebrow and responded, "Alrighty then," and walked away.

He sighed. He hated being a jerk to people like her. People who he could be real friends with if he didn't have to wear this stupid invisible mask all the time. Hopefully this first impression won't last.

A few minutes after he heard the late bell ring, he waltzed into the school.

After stopping by his locker, he went to his first hour, History.

He obviously interupted Mr. Bacchus when he walked through the door, because he gave him the death stare.

"Mr. Jackson. Lovely to see that we're starting out on such a good foot this year."

Percy put a hand over his heart and stared at him, "You know. I feel the same way."

"You're lucky it's the first day and they forgot to print up the detention slips. But you won't get lucky again."

Percy saluted him and headed for his seat in the far back of the classroom.

"As I was saying, this year will be a good one. You will be given partners next week and that will be your partner for any partner projects the entire year."

Percy hated this idea last year. He was stuck with some chick named Clarisse la Rue last year. She was an even bigger jerk than he pretended to be.

"But that's more for next week," said Mr. Bacchus, "for now. Role call. Nico di Angelo?"

"Here," Nico said, raising his hand slightly.

"Luke Castellan?"

"Present, Mr. Bacchus," Luke smiled pompously and leaned back in his chair.

Percy hated him, he was the biggest jerk as they come. People swarmed around him like he was a celebrity. Annoying.

"Annabeth Chase?"

"Here," a voice said from the front of the room.

A voice that he recognized. He looked up and there she was. The princess in all her glory.

 _Annabeth. Annabeth. It's perfect for her._

He wanted to say it desperately, but he knew that he would have to wait. Bad boys don't just sit there and say girl's names. Even really pretty girls that look like princesses.

"Percy Jackson!"

Percy looked up and raised his eyebrow. He saw Annabeth turn around to look at him along with the rest of the class.

"From now on, since you must not be able to hear properly back there because you didn't answer me the first time, you will be sitting up here next to Ms. Chase," he said pointing towards the empty desk in the very front of the room.

He sighed and moved up to the desk. Annabeth gave him a forced smile.

"Now Mr. Jackson. Are. You. Here?" Bacchus said as he leaned towards Percy.

Percy leaned forward until he was about a foot away from him and spoke, "Present," adding a smile the end.

He could feel Annabeth looking at him from his right, but he kept his head facing the clock above the board. He watched that minute hand tick, tick, tick until it was almost 9:00. There was no point in looking at the board anyway, he couldn't read it. He was dyslexic. He didn't like being made to read. It made him seem like a fool.

Finally the bell rang and Percy was the first one out the door. After that class, he had Math and English, which he despised, and gym. None of which had Annabeth.

They were allowed outside to eat for lunch. They usually let them until it started getting cold.

Percy went to his usual table at the corner of the lunch pavilion. His mom always packed him a lunch in a brown bag. She would wrap his food up all nicely for him. He loved her for that.

While eating his sandwich, he looked up and saw Annabeth as she got her tray and looked around for a place to sit.

Oh how desperately he wanted to raise his hand and gesture for her to sit with him, for he knew what it felt like on that first day looking for someone who will accept you.

He watched as some other kids did what he wanted to do and she went and sat with them.

He recognized some of them. Piper McLean, Thalia Grace, Nico di Angelo, Leo Valdez, and Grover Underwood, who was disabled and had to use crutches. There was also a tall blonde dude with glasses, a tall Asian dude, and a short girl with dark skin.

He was glad. He knew some of them and knew that they were good people. He was happy that they would be her new friends instead of someone like Drew Tanaka. She was Satan reincarnated.

After lunch there was Science. No sign of Annabeth.

Next, he had his Greek class. He got into the classroom quickly and sat down in the back.

He watched everyone as they came in, looking for her.

Mr. Brunner, the teacher, was sitting at his desk. Well, he was always sitting. He was paralyzed from the waist down.

Percy always like Mr. Brunner. He seemed to know that this Percy was a mask, but he accepted it and never said anything about it. Percy appreciated that. He didn't want to have to be a jerk to Mr. Brunner too.

The bell rang, still no sight of her. Percy sighed as Mr. Brunner rolled over and shut the door.

"Okay class, so today-"

He was interupted by someone knocking on the door.

Percy looked up in hope as Mr. Brunner made to open the door.

Sure enough, there she was.

"Sorry. I got lost. I'm new," she said tucking her hair behind her ear and blushing a bit as she looked at the whole class staring at her.

"That's quite alright...," Brunner looked down at the pass she gave him, "Annabeth."

They smiled at each other and Brunner said, "Well, the only open seat seems to be by Mr. Jackson over there in the corner."

She nodded and looked at Percy.

As she was setting her stuff down, she said, "This school's kind of confusing."

Percy turned his head and looked at her. Without saying anything he turned back towards the board.

He really wanted to agree with her and tell her the funny stories of how he got lost when he first got here too. But he didn't.

"Wow. Are you like this to everyone, or just new kids trying to make friends?" she angry whispered.

He looked at her. Her gray eyes had gone dark, she was obviously mad.

He was so close to just appologyzing and trying to make her laugh.

"I'm trying to pay attention," he said, dragging the words out to make them sound sarcastic and annoyed.

Then he pulled out his headphones and stuck one earbud in. The side facing her.

She rolled her eyes and faced the front.

 _Dang,_ he thought, _this girl is gonna break me._

Percy noticed that she liked to raise her hand and participate a lot. It was cute. Every time she knew the answer, she would jump in her seat a little bit and raise her hand up high.

The bell rang, and Percy realized that he hadn't looked at the clock once, as he usually does, for he was staring at her the whole time.

After school he got changed into his swim trunks for swim team practice. The coach only liked him because he was the best on the team. He practices a lot. The water relaxes him.

People stare at his back and torso though. That's where Gabe beats him the most. It's covered in bruises and scars. Anytime someone asks, he just looks at them and tells them that he was in a fight and that they should see the other guy.

Once that was over, he went to the gym to work on a punching bag. He doesn't necessarily lie when he brags about his fighting. He is a decent fighter, it's just that he's only been in one fight where he fought back. Not the hundreds that he claims.

At about 6:00, he starts walking towards his mom's work. Well, one of them. She works at a coffee shop, and she's a waitress at a diner. She wants to be an author, but she doesn't have the time or the money to quit one of the jobs. Percy's sad for her that she doesn't get to do what she wants to do, but he's also happy that she's never home when he isn't. At least he knows that she's safe at work.

Percy entered the store and saw his mom behind the counter. There were a few people there. All of them older, he knew none of them.

"Percy," Sally said with a smile.

He watched as her eyes lit up and he gave her a hug, "Hey mom. Need some help?"

"I don't want you to put off your school work," she said staring at him.

He took off his sunglasses and stared right back, "Okay. I'll do that real quick, but then I'll do this, and you get some rest. You look so tired."

"Deal. Now go do that homework," she smiled and shooed him away.

He sat down and pulled out his books. He usually would start his homework, but never complete it. It would take him too long and his mom wouldn't get the rest she deserved.

After half an hour Percy stood up and grabbed an apron from behind the counter.

Sally gratefully looked at him as she gave a man his coffee and went into the back.

Percy worked for her until around 9:00 when she woke up and told him to get home and get some sleep.

He really didn't want to, but he did her wishes. He got home later and went straight up to his room. The monster was having "the boys" over, and he liked to show off how well he could beat Percy.

"Boy!" Gabe yelled from the living room.

Percy sighed and went downstairs.

"You know, when I call you down here, I expect you to run," Gabe said, and his friends laughed.

"Get me another beer," he hissed.

Percy went and grabbed a beer from the fridge and handed it to him.

"Prissy! We have compmany!" Gabe said standing up, "That means, you get everyone a beer when someone asks."

With that he took a sharp shot to Percy's eye. Then his jaw.

His friends were laughing and cheering him on.

Gabe threw his fist into Percy's stomach. He bent over and held his stomach. He watched as Gabe lifted his knee and smashed it into Percy's face.

Percy stood up and grabbed his nose, which was a bleeding mess.

"Now go get everyone a beer," he pushed Percy away.

Percy used the wall to help him walk and he returned with the beers.

Then he escaped back upstairs and took a painful shower.

He looked at himself in the mirror and looked at his already starting to puff and bruise up eye.

 _Black eye. Awesome._

He stumbled back into his room and laid down on his bed. He put his earbuds in and he drifted to sleep. A cute bloned haired princess filling his thoughts.

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Tell me what you thought of it guys! I'll be on vacation for 11 days, so I probably won't be able to update until I'm back. Review please!


	3. The Shades are Off

Guess who's back, back, back, back again. Okay. It's me. XD. So here's your dose of percabeth.

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 **Percy POV**

Nobody asked about Percy's bruises the next day. That was, until he got into history class.

"Jesus. What'd you do? Walk into a pole?" Annabeth asked as she sat into her desk.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Percy replied, turning his head a bit to look at her.

She looked gorgeous today. Her hair was in a ponytail, but there were some ringlets framing her face. He desperately wanted to brush the hair behind her ear.

"Well when someone asks a question, it's usually because they want to know the answer so I guess yeah. I would like to know," she huffed.

Percy turned fully to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Listen," he started, "I don't know how to put this, but, we just met, and I'm not into you like that."

"And I hope you never are," she exclaimed as she turned to face the board.

"You know. I actually got these bruises from some ladies I met at this club I snuck into. They didn't like me too much at first, but they warmed up to me," he said with a wink.

 _Lies, lies, lies,_ he thought.

"God, you're such a bothersome pig!" she yelled.

Percy forced himself to smirk while on the inside he wanted to tell her the truth of how he got the bruises. The thought made him depressed. He knew the truth would never come out.

People were starting to look at them.

He felt bad for putting Annabeth in the spotlight like this on her second day.

"Ooh," he said, putting his hands up in surrender, "Big, scary words. Too. Hard. For. Percy. To. Understand."

He put his hands to his head like he was in pain.

"You know," she said while turning fully in his direction, "You're becoming a huge pain in my-"

"Ms. Chase! Mr. Jackson!" Mr. Bacchus yelled.

They both turned towards the front of the classroom.

Once she saw that the whole class was now staring at them, Annabeth blushed. Percy just crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat.

"In case you haven't noticed, I've started class," Bacchus announced, "So that means to stop bickering like a married couple!"

Annabeth blushed even harder and said quietly, "Mr. Bacchus. I'm so sorry."

Percy saw how Bacchus's face was becoming purple and plump like a grape. He knew that there was no good ending to this.

"I'll see you both for detention today after school. Consider it couple's counseling."

With that he turned towards the board and began talking again.

Annabeth was about the color of a tomato, and even Percy was a bit pink.

He was extremely happy that he always wore the sunglasses, for he knew that his eyes would be begging Annabeth to forgive him, and he couldn't have that. He had a reputation after all.

She cut a glare in his direction and focused on Mr. Bacchus for the rest of class.

Finally, the bell rang and Percy was free from the torture of history. He went to his locker and got a few of his books.

 **Smack!**

Percy turned when he heard the sound of books hitting the floor and watched as three of Luke Castellan's friends walked away from Grover laughing.

Percy wondered why Castellan wasn't there himself. He usually didn't have his lackies do stuff like this for him.

Grover sighed and started trying to lower himself close enough to the ground so he could pick them up.

It wasn't going to well, and Percy saw that if he kept going like that he was going to fall flat on his face with his crutches flying everywhere.

 _Just go help him, Perce. You know it's the right thing to do,_ he thought.

 _But the reputation!_ he argued.

He was conflicted. He thought about just walking the other direction, even though none of his classes were that way.

 _Just let someone else help_ _._

But no one else seemed to want to help. They just kind of stepped around him like he was a piece of paper someone dropped. They barely looked at him.

Finally Percy made a decision and walked over to Grover.

He helped him back into a standing position and grabbed his books.

"Ever hear of a bookbag?" Percy said looking at him.

"Mine broke last year. Haven't gotten around to getting a new one," Grover replied while looking at the ground.

Percy looked down the hall and saw that Luke and his posse were waiting for Grover.

"What class do you have next?" Percy asked.

"Science."

"Let's go," Percy said starting to walk but not too fast. He didn't want Grover to be too far behind.

Surprisingly, Grover caught up to Percy in record time and said, "I can take those now."

"You see them up there?" Percy pointed to Luke's friends, "As soon as you get up there they'll to the same thing again."

Grover nodded and kept quite as they made their way to Science. They turned right at a hallway and Percy was well aware that they were going in the opposite direction of his math class.

He wasn't too bothered by it. He didn't like Ms. Dodd's anyway.

When they passed the three jerks, Percy glared at them. Even though they couldn't see it because of his sunglasses, he was pretty sure they understood what he was doing.

They got to the classroom and Percy handed back the books.

"Thanks," Grover mumbled as he situated the books under his arm and went into the room.

Percy turned and started walking to his Math class with his mind set.

Luke and his cronies weren't gonna torture defenseless kids like Grover in the hallways anymore.

 **Annabeth POV**

Annabeth was in Math class when she saw him.

She sat down and started getting her things out when someone sat down in front of her.

She looked up to see the prettiest guy she's ever seen. She was kind of awestruck. He had these gorgeous blue eyes and perfect blonde hair. His only imperfection was this scar that ran down the left side of his face. But hey, Hannah Montana preached that nobody's perfect.

"Hey. You're new aren't you?" he said.

"Um... Yeah, yeah I am," she answered while nervously tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Thought so. I would definitely remember you," he winked at her, not the creepy way that Percy did, but a nice one.

She smiled and she was pretty sure her face was hot enough to cook an egg on.

"You got a name?" he asked nonchalantly.

She opened her mouth to reply back-

"Hey Annabeth!" a voice said from behind Annabeth.

"Annabeth, I like it," he said while smiling.

Turns out, it was Piper and Thalia.

"Hey guys," Annabeth said as she herself half turned to them, half to the god in front of her.

"You're gonna sit with us at lunch again, right?" Thalia asked.

"Yeah if you guys want me too," Annabeth replied.

"Of course we want you too! You're one of us now," Piper assured with a smile.

Annabeth smiled back and glanced towards the boy.

Piper and Thalia's eyes went wide with understanding and they smiled and nodded at Annabeth.

Annabeth smiled and turned back around to face the boy... who was now talking to someone else and had his back turned towards her, Piper, and Thalia.

She sighed a little and argued with herself on whether or not she should tap his shoulder to start a conversation.

Before she had come to a conclusion, class had started and it was too late.

She decided that she would linger a bit after class to see if he would wait for her.

The bell rang and before Annabeth could even tell her friends an excuse to stay behind, he was long gone.

With that, she went to lunch with Thalia and Piper.

The lunch room was pretty nice in her opinion. It had a cool color scheme of orange and blue, the school colors. The walls had designs sculpted into them that were beautiful. They were of different stories from Greek mythology it looked like.

One wall was a dry erase board that had the lunch menu for the month on it and different drawings and sayings from the students. Annabeth didn't see any high school immatureness on that board, so they must have a camera on it to make sure no one puts anything innapropriate.

The ceiling was slightly slanted and it was completely glass. It was much prettier than her old school in San Fransisco.

"Earth to Annabeth!" Leo yelled and waved in her face.

She jumped and smacked him in the arm as a reflex.

"Sorry Leo, but you startled me," she said with a shrug and a smile.

"Guys, you'll never believe this," Grover said as he hurried and sat down, holding his lunch bag under his arm.

Frank helped him with his crutches as he sat down. At least she thought it was Frank. Honestly she wasn't super sure. There were a lot of people at this table, and that meant a lot of names.

"Thanks Jason," Grover said gratefully after he was situated.

 _Whoops,_ she thought.

"Alright, so what's this great story of yours?" Nico said impatiently.

"Alright, alright," he started, "So I was walking to Science second hour, right? And some of Castellan's minions came up and pushed my books to the ground."

"Those little-" Thalia began.

"Wait! I'm not done!"

Thalia sighed and gestured for him to keep going.

"So I was trying to lower myself down to get them, when after awhile guess who picks them up for me?"

"Who?" asked Frank.

"Percy freaking Jackson!" Grover said a bit too loudly.

Practically the whole table turned towards Percy, who was listening to music with his sunglasses on, of course, and eating his lunch.

eWhich was very carefully packed.

 _Weird that he would take that much time to pack a lunch,_ Annabeth thought, _Or that someone would take that much time for him._

"Thank the gods he's listening to music too loud," Piper said as she faced our table again.

"Yeah. I don't feel like listening to him try to get the world record for being the biggest pain in the butt," Leo spoke.

"Wait, but he actually picked your books up for you?" Jason asked.

"Not only that, he walked me to my class to make sure they didn't do it again! And guess who was there when I came out of my Math class? That's right! He was! It went on like that for the rest of the day!"

Everyone was pretty astonished. They'd never seen Percy be anything close to friendly.

Annabeth didn't really know what to think. The guy that she fought with in History would definitely not do something that nice.

"Why would he do that? He's never done stuff like that before," Piper wondered.

"I'm not sure," Grover exclaimed, "Maybe there's more to Percy Jackson than we know."

When Annabeth walked into Greek class, she knew it was going to be miserable.

She had a feeling in her gut, and her gut almost never lied to her.

She sat down and saw that Percy was already sitting down in the seat next to her.

"Why Princess, I was starting to wonder on whether or not you would show," he smirked.

"First bell just rang, Jackson. Annabeth Chase is never late," she said, not facing him.

"Ah, but you were late yesterday if I remember correctly. That, I believe, is how we got caught up in this particular seating arrangement in the first place."

She felt herself push her lips together as she responded, "Ooh. Big words there Jackson. Did you look those up after History?"

"You know, I like when you say my last name like that. All angry like. It's hot," he raised his eyebrows and waited for her to retaliate.

"Gods you're an imbicile," Annabeth muttered as she sat down.

She would not have her learning be hindered by this jerk.

He put a hand over his heart and said, "I thought you'd never say it!"

Then Mr. Chiron came in and everyone got quiet. Even Percy.

 _Bad boy with respect for a teacher?_ she thought quizzicly.

Class went by pretty fast after that. She didn't hear another annoying sound out of Percy, and after class he bolted out of the door.

After school she looked at her detention slip and sighed.

She walked into Mr. Bacchus's room and stood there, unsure of where to go.

There were already a few kids in there. Percy not being one of them.

"Sit there, Ms. Chase," Bacchus said while pointing to a desk on the right side of the classroom.

A few minutes later, Percy waltzed in and started to make his way towards the back.

"Not so fast, Jackson," Bacchus said, "You'll sit right here where I can keep an eye on you."

He pointed to the desk right in the front-center of the room.

"Woah! Mr. Bacchus. I mean. I'm flattered, but... I just don't like you like that! It's not you, it's me," Percy said, gesturing to Bacchus first, then himself.

"Jackson!" Bacchus bellowed.

"Alright, alright," Percy put his hands up in surrender and sat down in the desk.

"And take those stupid sunglasses off! I need to be able to see your eyes to make sure you're not sleeping."

"You see sir, I have a medical condition-" Percy started to say.

"Now Jackson!"

Mr. Bacchus held his hand out and Percy sighed and walked up to him.

At first he just stood there, and Mr. Bacchus thrust his hand towards him. He sighed once more and took them off.

He turned around to walk back and Annabeth saw his beautiful green eyes.

Her breath caught and she watched as he looked at her.

His eyes looked sad and lost, but in a second they hardened and he sat down in his desk.

Without his sunglasses, his black eye was extremely visible which made Annabeth wonder what really happened to him.

She decided to ask Thalia tomorrow to see if she knew anything.

Detention was for an hour. She watched Percy for most of it. He seemed to be drawing something in a notebook.

It was strange to her. He didn't seem like the artsy type to her.

The bell rang and Percy was up in the blink of an eye.

She watched him grab his sunglasses off of Mr. Bacchus's desk and put them on. Then he was out the door.

She was too soon after.

She saw him walk down the hall with a duffel bag in his hand. On it, read, 'Goode High School Swim Team'.

 _He's on the swimming team?_ she pondered.

She was definitely surprised by that.

Since she had obviously missed the bus, she started walking home. About two blocks from her house, she saw a cute little coffee shop.

She found some money in her backpack, and she decided to go in.

The woman behind the counter looked up at the sound of the bell that went off when she opened the door. She had black hair, blue eyes, and smile lines by her eyes.

"Hi," the woman said kindly, "I'm Sally. What can I get you?"

Annabeth looked at the small chalkboard that was the menu and replied, "Can I get a small vanilla frappe and a cookie?"

"Sure thing sweetie."

Annabeth paid her and stood by the counter waiting for her drink.

"Where are you coming from?" Sally asked.

"Goode High School. I go there," Annabeth answered.

"Oh! My son goes there too!" Sally said excitedly.

"Really? I'm new so I probably don't know him."

"Well, his name is-"

Suddenly Annabeth's phone went off and she smiled apologetically at Sally while she rummaged through her bag.

Finally she found it and saw the call was from her step mom, Helen.

"Hello?" Annabeth questioned.

"Annabeth, where are you?" Helen asked.

"I'm grabbing some coffee."

"For an hour after school?"

Annabeth inwardly cringed. She knew Helen would take the detention bad.

 _Don't tell her_ , she thought.

"I'm with some friends," Annabeth said swiftly.

She saw Sally look up from making Annabeth's drink and she raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, well be home soon, I'm making dinner," Helen noted, believing Annabeth's story.

"I'm on my way now actually."

"Okay, be careful."

"Will do," she said as she hung up.

She grabbed her drink and her bookbag and she started to head out the door.

"You know," Sally called to her, "The best liars tell the truth."

Annabeth thought on that for a moment and wearily spoke, "Thanks."

She rushed home and saw that the house was a mess.

Bobby and Matthew ran around playing some kind of game they made up.

When they saw that she was there, they ran to her and hugged her.

"Hey guys!" she said, giving them both hugs.

Later, at dinner, Annabeth was eating when Helen began, "So Annie."

She cringed. She hated being called that.

"Who are these new friends of yours?"

Annabeth told her about them and how much she liked them.

"Good. I'm glad that you're acclimating so well to this new environment. I mean, you're having no trouble in your classes, you have plenty of great friends it sounds like, and pretty soon, I bet you'll have a boyfriend."

Annabeth just laughed lightheartedly and changed the subject. It was always awkward talking to Helen about boys, and she would rather steer clear of the subject.

Honestly, she like this town and the people in it. Well. Most people.

It was the second day of school, and she already extremely disliked Percy Jackson.

Percy Jackson, with his extremely beautiful eyes and annoying smirk.

 _Hopefully,_ she thought, _He'll take a day off tomorrow._

* * *

So this was a little longer than I meant it to be. Whoops. Also, I don't know how often I'll do Annabeth's point of view. I think I'll just throw it in every once in awhile. I also got a request to have a minor character's point of view. I'll do that, but at a later point.

Anyone get the Gotham reference? ;)


	4. Project Partners

**Okay, before you say anything, I'M SO SORRY! I've been having writer's block, and trying to work on my novel, and Junior year is kind of kicking my butt right now. I just saw a review yesterday that said they couldn't wait for more and I was like, alright Madelyn, LET'S GO! So yeah here we are. I hope I didn't lose too many followers and I promise I'll try to be better. My plan is to write at least every 2 weeks, sometimes more, hopefully not less.**

 **Anyway, on to the story, I think I'm going to have Annabeth's point of view more than I originally thought. I also will add in other POV's too, but those will probably be a little bit later. Thanks!**

* * *

Percy's POV

Percy sighed as he walked through the doors of History once again. He braced himself when he saw Annabeth. She was laughing with some of her friends across the room. She had already set her stuff down on her desk next to his. He threw his bag down and dropped into his seat.

He had put his earbuds in when he saw Annabeth sit down. That's when he knew class was about to begin.

He was hoping that if she didn't say anything to him, he wouldn't have to be a jerk to her, and he could just let her be happy with her friends.

"Alright, alright, sit down," he heard Mr. Bacchus yell over the rowdy students, "Your project partners will be assigned today! You'll have these partners all year for all of your projects in here, so don't grumble. Your first project is a presentation on the Civil War. I'm talking battles, people, weapons, the works. It's due in two weeks, and I want tri-fold poster boards, powerpoint, notecards, and all that jazz."

He heard a collective groan from the students, himself included. He glanced at Annabeth and saw her eyes brighten a bit. My god she was adorable. He was so happy he had his shades. He just knew his eyes were asking her to marry him right then and there.

"Alright, here we go," Bacchus started, "Thalia Grace and Piper McLean."

He watched as the two girls smiled at each other from across the room.

"Jason Grace and Hazel Levesque."

"Luke Castellan and Drew Tanaka," Percy watched as Annabeth slumped slightly in her chair and let out a soft sigh.

She turned slightly and saw him watching her. Her cheeks turned pink and she turned so fast to face the board, Percy thought she might've gotten whiplash.

He almost smiled at her cuteness, but caught himself and smirked at her instead. Oh my god! She would be the end to his charade! He keeps almost slipping in front of her!

 _I wish I could just be myself around her_ , he thought, _I bet she would like the real me. We would become friends, then I would eventually ask her out. I'd probably take her to the aquarium or something. Maybe we could even just watch Finding Nemo and-._

 _"_ Mr. Jackson!" Percy was startled, but he recovered quickly.

He sat straight up in his seat and saluted him yelling, "Yes, sir!"

There were some snickers from the rest of the class, and others just looked simply annoyed. The pretty one sitting to the left of him in particular. She rolled her eyes and put her right hand on her jaw, facing away from him.

"You will pay attention in my class this year, Jackson! Or you'll live in detention!" Bacchus yelled, his face turning slightly grape-like.

"Oh I always pay attention, Mr. Bacchus! How could I not? It's too interesting to even blink!" Percy's voice dripped with sarcasm as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk.

Percy watched as Annabeth turned towards him and all he could think was, _No, please don't get into this. I don't want to fight with you._

"Well we would never actually know if you were blinking with those stupid sunglasses on would we? Are the fluorescent lights really that blinding for you?" she asked sweetly as she tilted her head and raised her eyebrows.

Percy inwardly sighed as he put his hand over his heart and plastered on a fake smirk, "You know, I thought you weren't going to insult me today, and my heart almost broke. Maybe tomorrow you could call my hair dumb? Or make fun of my jacket? Oh! Maybe you could say I look like an ape! That would really show me my place."

Percy was completely facing her, so he didn't miss the way her gray eyes hardened until he was sure they were stone, and her face turned red with anger.

"Percy Jackson, you are despicable."

Percy poked the person in front of them and said in a joyous tone, "You hear that? She called me despicable!"

"Enough! Since you two love to bicker, do it on your own time! In fact, you can be partners this year how about that? Then you can get all your arguing out of your system when you aren't in my class!"

At this, both Annabeth and Percy looked up at Mr. Bacchus in horror. Annabeth, because she despised Percy, and Percy, because he didn't know how long he could be alone with this girl before he stopped acting.

Annabeth's hand shot in the air, and before he had even looked at her she began, "But Mr. Bacchus-"

"But Mr. Bacchus nothing!" he replied, "This is my final decision. Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase, you are project partners."

Annabeth leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms with such violence, Percy was slightly afraid. Percy, also annoyed, leaned back in his chair and put his earbuds back in.

Finally, the bell rang, and he got out of there as fast as he could; however, Annabeth seemed to leave the room before he even got up.

He hustled his way to Grover's gym class to meet him in the hall. He had been guarding Grover like this for about a week now, and he was pleased to see that Castellan and his cronies hadn't picked on him once.

It was definitely a fact that Percy acted like a jerk, but he could never force himself to torment others, no matter how many 'lessons' Gabe gives him.

When he got there, he saw Grover making his way down the hall. Percy quickly caught up to him and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Hey," Grover said as they moved down the hall.

Percy nodded at him, and continued to stare straight ahead.

"You know, you don't have to do this, I'm not that helpless you know," Grover looked at the ground while he continued to his Science class.

Percy thought of different asshole responses he could give to that, but he just couldn't make himself do it. Instead, he settled on a quiet, "I know."

Grover nodded slightly and moved his eyes around awkwardly. He gave that little half smirk that really just looked more uncomfortable than anything.

Lunch was... definitely different for Percy. He went and sat in the far corner of the lunch room, as always, and he put his earbuds in, as always. He didn't expect the one girl that could break his resolve to walk up to his table and angrily set her tray down across the circular table from him.

Percy raised his eyebrows and was about to speak when Annabeth huffed, "Save it. I'm not in the mood."

He then raised just one eyebrow and smirked. He raised his hands in surrender and waited for her to explain. He didn't trust himself to speak, for he was afraid his voice might show his excitement that she was sitting with him.

He looked and saw her friends at her table staring at them like they just saw Yogi Bear running around without pants.

"Look," she began, looking into his eyes, or really, his sunglasses, "I just need to know if I can actually count on you for these projects."

She stared at him intensely until he answered, "You can count on me, Wise Girl."

He added a wink to the end, which he then realized she couldn't see, so he also gave a small smirk. One that was not forced for that matter.

She grimaced a bit as she said, "Good... Seaweed Brain."

Percy smiled a genuine smile as he replied, "Nice one."

"I think we should set up times to work on the project due soon. When are you free?" she asked as she started to get out a pen and a small planner.

"Are you hitting on me?" Percy asked, smirking as he propped his feet on the table.

She whispered menacingly, "You wish, Jackson."

 _Yeah I do_ , he thought, but instead he smiled with all of his teeth and said, "I'm mostly free at 7 after school, and on the weekends."

Her pen paused as she looked up and raised an eyebrow, "What? No weekend ragers at the Jackson household?"

Percy felt his eyes widen slightely, thank god for the shades. He forgot he had his reputation to uphold. He set his feet on the ground and leaned his elbows against the table.

"Why, do you want to be invited to one?" he felt a half smile grow upon his face.

"You're so..." she shook closed her eyes and took a deep breath before continuing, "Charming." Her words were dripping with sarcasm as she squinted her eyes a bit and smiled.

"I love these kind words we share," Percy replied, smiling right back.

"Whatever. Should we do your house, my house, every other?" she asked, turning her attention back to her notebook.

Percy immediately thought of Gabe, and how he would not take well to visitors.

"How about we just do it at the library?" he asked, sincerely.

She glanced at him slightly, before shrugging and agreeing, "That's fine. We could do Tuesday and Thursday night at 7, and Saturday if we need it?"

She looked up at him while she waited for his answer.

"Anything for you, Wise Girl," he smiled once more and watched as she huffed and started to gather her things.

"Great," she replied, dragging out the 'r'.

She slung her backpack over her shoulder and shoved the pen she was using behind her ear. Percy thought she looked extremely cute with the pen behind her ear. She was about to grab her tray and leave, when Percy said, "Wait."

She looked up with a slightly annoyed look before replying, "What, Jackson?"

"Don't you think we should have each other's phone numbers in case one of use can't make it or something?" he asked sincerely. He couldn't let this opportunity pass, and he honestly really wanted to be able to just text her if he wanted. Which of course he would never do, but it was a nice thought.

"Wow. An actual good idea from you. Shocking," she exclaimed while grabbing the pen from behind her ear.

She held out her hand, and when Percy didn't do anything, she said, "Hmm. Don't get too many girl's numbers, huh?"

Percy felt his ears get hot as he bent down to grab a piece of paper from his backpack.

"Oh come on Seaweed Brain," she sounded exasperated as she reached over and grabbed his forearm.

She pulled up the sleeve of his leather jacket and wrote her phone number in her tiny, neat handwriting under his wrist.

He watched as she walked back to her table of friends, and all he could do was stare at the place where she touched his arm. Then one of the happiest smiles he's had in awhile grew on his face as he continued to eat his lunch.

Annabeth's POV

"So... you and Percy, huh?" Piper asked as Annabeth finally took her seat at their table.

"Oh God no," she replied, sticking her tongue out and laughing. "We were just working out a schedule to work on our project."

Her face got dark as she thought about the fact that her Tuesday and Thursday nights would now consist of Percy Jackson. Ugh.

Though, the fact that she got him to blush definitely brightened the situation.

"Yeah that sucks, sorry Annie," Leo gave her a sympathetic smile.

She shrugged, acting like she didn't care, but honestly she did. She could deal with Percy, but if she has to do all of this work by herself she's going to be so stressed. Plus, Helen would definitely kill her if she didn't get an 'A' on every single one. She sighed and hoped upon hope that Percy would live up to his word.

"Okay, you need a pick-me-up," Thalia said, looking at Annabeth with pity. The others nodded along.

Annabeth brightened a bit as she thought of the cute coffee place she found, "Hey I have an idea. Have you guys ever been to Coco's Cafe?"

Most of them shrugged, but Hazel excitedly exclaimed, "Oh yeah! Nico and I love that place!"

Nico nodded in agreement, but didn't add anything to the conversation. Honestly, Annabeth wasn't sure if she had ever heard him talk. She didn't think too much about it though, it didn't seem like he talked much to anyone.

"It's got great coffee, and hot cocoa," she added with a nod to Leo.

"Then I'm in. I love myself a good cup of cocoa," he smiled and rubbed his hands together.

There were mumbles and smiles around the table of agreement.

"Great! Coco's Cafe after school? We can all meet up by the flag and walk there together too," Annabeth said while writing it in her planner.

"Oh wait," Hazel started, which caused Annabeth to pause her penmanship, "Frank, don't you have swim practice?"

Frank looked disappointed for a second before cheering up, "Nope! It's cancelled for today. Something about coach being sick or something?"

"Then it's settled," Annabeth returned to writing in her planner as she continued, "Be at the flagpole at 3:20."

* * *

 **I tried to make this chapter a bit longer for you all. I hope you enjoyed it! Thank you all for reading and for sticking with me through my writer's block. Please review to let me know of anything that I can improve on or just any parts that you liked. It feels good to be back!**


	5. Coco's Cafe

**Alright everyone no need to worry I'm still here! I wish there was some way I could update on my homepage just to let everyone know that i'm still active! I've been working on this chapter for awhile, I just couldn't get it the way that I wanted. So here goes my excuses: first I thought I could get another chapter in before finals week but alas, I couldn't. Then, we went to Florida for Christmas and school has been hard since we got back. Plus, I'm in Rosie in the Mamma Mia play that my school's doing so I've had that. Whew! There's all my excuses out in the open. But I'm still here don't worry! So here we go! :).**

 **By the way, this chapter takes place right after Chapter 4. See you at the end!**

* * *

 **Annabeth's POV**

The sun casted shadows of Annabeth and her friends as they walked to Coco's Cafe after school. They were laughing and joking around, taking their time getting to their destination. Annabeth smiled as she watched Leo, Jason, and Piper laughing and teasing each other. She felt incredibly lucky that she found a great group of friends so quickly. For the first time, she didn't miss her old home in San Fransisco.

Annabeth watched as a man with aviator sunglasses walked past them and into a store. It was strange how looking at a simple thing such as sunglasses reminded her of Percy freaking Jackson. It was then that she remembered her situation with him and Mr. Bacchus. Just like that, her good mood was gone.

"Ugh, can anyone tell me why Mr. Bacchus hates me so much? I've been here for a week and he already paired me with the worst person in the school!" Annabeth threw her hands in the air as her friends turned towards her.

They all gave her pitiful looks and Piper responded, "I know. That really sucks I'm sorry. On the bright side, hopefully with these impromptu marriage counseling sessions, you guys might not have to get a divorce!"

Piper started laughing before she could even finish teasing Annabeth, which caused the rest of them to laugh as well.

"Hardy har, har. So funny," Annabeth sighed, "I've only had Bacchus for like a week and he's been a complete jerk to me."

"Ah, you get used to it," Leo waved his hand carelessly in the air. Annabeth noticed that he did that a lot, used his hands to talk. She found it charming how he got so excited when talking about the tiniest things.

She decided to not let Percy Jackson haunt her thoughts when she was trying to have a good time.

"You know," Grover started, "he's been acting strangely nice recently. I mean, I haven't talked to Percy-"

"Can we just pretend that Percy Jackson doesn't exist right now?" Annabeth interrupted.

Grover smiled and nodded as they continued to walk. After about ten more minutes, they arrived at the cafe.

A bell chimed as they opened the door and walked in. The cafe was cozy with all a dark color scheme and booths that lined the walls. There were smaller tables around the rest of the room and a big counter in the middle where there was a door that led to the back.

A few people occupied a couple tables, and there was one booth filled. They all started a line up to the counter and stared at the menu. Annabeth saw Sally and went up to the counter.

"Hi Sally. How have you been?" Annabeth asked politely.

"Oh I'm just fine dear. It's Annabeth, right?" Sally asked.

Annabeth nodded and smiled. She thought Sally had just the kindest blue eyes.

Leo pushed up next to her and leaned against the counter with one arm. He raised his eyebrows and asked, "Ooh what's the 'spicy hot chocolate supreme'?"

Sally opened her mouth to answer when Leo continued, "Oh nevermind that. I'll take three."

Sally laughed, a full laugh that made the corners of Annabeth's mouth twitch up.

After they had all gotten their drinks, and in Hazel's case, a cookie, they all squished into a booth. Annabeth sat with her back to the door and the wall of windows, which she was glad for because it was very bright outside.

Annabeth would have to guess that they had been sitting for 45 seconds, tops, when the bell above the door jingled open.

She watched as Hazel and Piper exchanged a look and then gave that same look to Annabeth. Jason's blue eyes hardened and his face had the softness of a brick.

"Hi honey," she heard Sally exclaim.

Annabeth craned around in her seat and was apalled to see Percy Jackson facing their table with a shocked expression on his face.

 **Percy's POV**

 _Shit, shit, shit_ , was all Percy could think as he stood there in the middle of his mom's work staring at the his one weakness.

They were all staring at him, some with confused expressions, some with angry expressions, and some with annoyed expressions, such as Annabeth. It was then that he realized he had been staring at them for far too long. He turned to his mother as she watched him with concern.

"Hey," he gave her a small lopsided smile and tried to face away from his schoolmates. He felt them still staring at him. It was like a laser was being pointed at the back of his skull, and it was slowly burning his scalp.

She moved around the counter and gave Percy a famous Sally Jackson hug, one that just forced you to hug back. He pushed his face into the hair on the top of her head. Her presence alone made him smile.

She pulled away and Percy got a good look at her. She looked exhausted to say the least, and she had her hair back in a low messy bun, which she usually did when she was too tired to make it look 'presentable'.

She reached up and pulled away his sunglasses.

"There. Now I can see you," she smiled and pushed the sunglasses into her apron pocket.

He immediately felt exposed knowing Annabeth and her friends could see his eyes if he turned around. He couldn't let them see how he was with his mother, it would ruin everything he had been trying to create. Everything Gabe had been trying to create.

He turned her shoulders around and marched her to the back.

He smiled gently at her and said softly, "I got this. You get some rest."

He threw on a green apron and tied it around his waist. He busied himself with anything that would keep him from having to look up and in the direction of Annabeth. He could still feel her staring at him, and he couldn't take it anymore. He heard them whispering and assumed that it was about the 'bad boy' acting civlized for once.

It was then that he let himself imagine what his life was supposed to be like, without Gabe. He just knew that he would be friends with the group in the booth. He would laugh with them and make them laugh in turn. He would be sitting there with them in this cafe where his mother didn't work. She would be too busy writing novels to be working in a cafe. They wouldn't need the extra money from her two jobs because Gabe wouldn't be there to waste it.

Percy let himself look up to their booth with these thoughts in his head. As soon as he did, he saw Annabeth's calculating gray eyes meet his, and they hardened. It sent a shiver down Percy's spine and he quickly turned around and began doing something else with his hands.

 _You're a fool, Percy. You weren't supposed to have that life. This was always the life you were meant to have. This miserable_ _life_ , he thought.

It took about fifteen more minutes before they gathered their things and walked out the door. As they walked past the slightly tinted windows, he saw Annabeth stare into the building again, this time with curiousity lingering in her eyes.

If he lived that fairytale life, he would linger behind the group with her, just so he could talk to her alone. He would brush the back of his hand against hers and those curious eyes would look into his and she would smile softly at him while she took his hand. They would walk together to wherever they were walking to now, hand in hand.

* * *

Mr. Bacchus gave the first partnered history project a few weeks later. They had three weeks to act out an interview with a famous person in history, and create a short film based on their life.

Percy sighed as he realized this would take a lot of work, and almost all of it would deifnitely have to be done with the two of them together.

After he gave the instructions, Bacchus let them discuss with their partners. Percy hated times like these, because he just knew that he would have to bother Annabeth. She always said things to him that he knew if he passed up, he would be getting second glances. He did not need those second glances.

He already was getting looks at today, as Gabe got especially drunk and angry last night. He had a busted lip and bruises on his jaw from the unstoppable punches. Gabe had pushed him at some point during his beating, and his arm and side slammed against the cabinet in the front room. Basically his entire forearm was blue, so he had to make sure he didn't take off his jacket today. He of course had his sunglasses on, to cover his black eye, and the emotion in his eyes. Sometimes, someone would accidentally brush against his arm and his eyes would tear up. That would definitely be a problem if someone saw.

Annabeth turned in her desk to face him and she gave him a blank, 'not today,' look. He forced a smile and tried to turn his body towards her. He gasped as his left side twisted and pulled the already torn skin. He sat forward again and turned his desk so that it faced her.

Annabeth was watching him with annoyance and... slight concern?

"Are you okay?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"I'm just fine, thanks Wise Girl," he replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

She rolled her eyes and got out a notebook.

"So we're going to need to figure out who we want to create a film about, and we need a video camera. Luckily, my dad has one that we can use."

Percy forced a seductive smirk, "Wonderful. I'm sure we'll find plenty of uses for that." He wiggled his eyebrows at her as she stared at him in disgust.

"You're disgusting you know that?" she replied, turning back to her paper and jotting down ideas.

Percy was glad she didn't make a bigger scene out of that. He really hated making those comments, especially in front of everyone. He didn't want to embarass Annabeth when she's just trying to work on this project.

"Let's just do someone easy like George Washington so we can finish it quickly," she said, still writing in her notebook with her black pen.

"I was actually thinking we could do someone interesting like, I don't know, Nikola Tesla?" Percy asked and he immediately regreted it.

Annabeth looked up in surprise and she cocked an eyebrow. Percy's first thought was about how much of a mistake that comment was. It actually made him sound slightly intelligent, which was not good for his ego. His second thought was how cute Annabeth looked at that exact moment.

She shrugged and said, "Okay. If you really want to."

He watched as she jotted down the name onto her paper. He was glad she didn't comment too much on his slip up. He really had to watch himself around her. It seemed that whenever he got near her his mojo was just all off. He couldn't stick to his routine and look in her eyes at the same time.

"Are you still free for tomorrow night?" she asked, looking up and into sunglasses.

"Yeah. Tuesday's and Thursday's at 7 are still fine," he said, watching his fingers tap on the desk.

There was a slight pause, and he looked up to catch her staring at him with scrutinity. She nodded and got out her planner to write it down he presumed. She turned back in her seat until she was sitting upright, signaling the end of their conversation. Percy took the hint and scooted his desk back to its original placement and waited for the bell.

Percy turned his head away from Annabeth as he smiled at the idea that the two of them technically had a date tomorrow.

He didn't come home until around 8 that night, knowing his mother was working late. He was hoping he could sneak up to his room quietly, but of course Gabe was waiting for him.

"Hey look who showed up, just in time," he smiled with his yellow teeth and his eyes squinted drunkinly.

Then, with strength that no drunken man should have, Gabe smashed Percy against the front door. He couldn't quite hold him up above the ground like he used to, but he could still pin him there. It didn't help that Percy didn't have the fight in him anymore. When he was younger, he would kick and bite and scratch, basically do anything to get Gabe's smelly hands off of him. Now, though, Percy knew it would be over with a lot quicker if he just sat limp.

A few punches came. They hit his shoulder, stomach, and jaw. While the pain was there, Percy wasn't. His head went somewhere else during times like these. Sometimes, he would go to Coco's Cafe and he would be sitting with his mom. Other times, he would be on the beach with both of his parents. He would watch his dad smile down at him, his hair blowing with the breeze. Percy missed those days.

"You know why I do this?" Gabe asked, holding Percy by the throat.

Percy was gasping for breath and moaning at this point, his side where Gabe had previously beaten him aching like hell.

"I do it, because somebody has to show you what a no good, worthless little prat you truly are," Gabe spat at him.

"You can't read," Gabe backhanded Percy across the face.

"You can't write." Fronthand.

"Hell, you can't even sit still for thirty minutes." Gabe pulled Percy off the wall a bit before shoving him back with force.

"No one would ever want you, Percy. Your mother only cares because she has to."

"No," Percy muttered, his swollen lip and busted open again, and blood was pouring into his mouth.

"Why do you think your father left, huh? He was the smart one."

"If I wasn't doing this to you, he would be." With that, Gabe threw Percy to the ground and kicked him in the stomach. He sauntered away towards the living room.

"Oh, and before you head upstairs to start crying, grab me a beer."

Percy hauled himself up from the floor and quickly got the beer and went upstairs as fast as he could without looking weak. He went straight to the bathroom to check out the damage. He saw bruises starting to form on his cheeks and neck, all in the hands of fingerprints. He didn't even realize he was in the shower until the water hit his back. He turned around and let the water pour on his head as he watched the bloody water run down his body and into the drain.

He thought about all the things Gabe said. His first thought was that Gabe was wrong, he was always wrong. But then, he thought about how he truly couldn't read or write due to his dyslexia. And he couldn't sit still because of his ADHD. His father had left them. Why did he do that? Was it really because he just couldn't stand to watch his son grow up and be the idiot that he was? That's what Percy was. He was an idiot. He knew it. He knew that Gabe was right, and he knew that he would never be good enough. Not for his mom, not for Annabeth, not for anyone.

He wasn't sure how long he was in the shower, but when he got out his hands and feet were all pruny like a raisin. He bandaged himself and laid in his bed. He stared up at the stars he had put on his ceiling so long ago.

His thoughts had moved on to Annabeth. The perfection that was Annabeth. It pained him to hurt her like he did. Just looking at her hurt his heart. It ached when he would see her, and he could feel it, like a compass in his chest, guiding him to her. He knew he could never have her. She could never be happy with an idiot like him.

He realized that he couldn't go to the library with her tomorrow. He couldn't let her see anymore of his true self. It's not like she would like what she saw anyway. It was better to stomp out the compass in his heart now, before the feelings grew too strong. Uncontrollable.

* * *

 **Ugh my heart. It breaks for Percy. Please review! It helps motivate me and don't you want to see what happens next?**

 **Also, I'm reading Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell right now and it's so good! It's a great read that I highly suggest!**


	6. Starry Nights

**I've been looking forward to writing this chapter since like the beginning of the story. XD**

* * *

 **Percy POV**

Annabeth had effectively taken over all of his thoughts the entire day. He watched her smile at her friends' jokes, and he saw how she gave a small, satisfied smile when she answered a question correctly in class. Her smile was contagious. Watching her smile made the corner of Percy's lips turn up.

He was trying to guess how disappointed she would be when he didn't show up tonight. He guessed she would wait for him for at most an hour before she left. He figured she'd yell at him tomorrow for ditching her. He would make a snarky comeback that would make her hate for him solidify within her. That's what he needed to do. He needed to make sure she hated him. Currently, she was his only concern. She could solely ruin everything he spent years trying to create. He had to do this.

His stomach kept turning in knots at the thought of breaking his promise to her. He would glance at her when she was with her friends, all happy and giggling, and he thought of how different her face would be fifteen minutes into waiting for him tonight, when the realization hit that he wasn't coming.

He kept his distance from everyone at school. He wasn't in the mood to be mean today. All he wanted to do was apologize to Annabeth beforehand and create an excuse for his future absence, but he knew that he couldn't.

School passed by, and Percy let his thoughts drown in his swim practice. He usually wore a swim shirt in practices to cover his scars and bruises. He didn't need unnecessary questions, and he didn't need to prove himself in practice. He was the fastest swimmer on the team, with many trophies at home to prove it. His mom displayed them on the table by the door, so everyone could see them.

He was just glad she wasn't usually able to come to his meets. He would go shirtless then, it was much faster, and he cared more about making his mother proud than keeping his secret. She would be concerned if she saw him like that. He would sometimes get weird looks, but he tried to ignore them and just keep his body covered for as long as he could before the race started, and throw a towl on right after the race ended.

Swimming calmed his thoughts. No one bothered him at practice, so he could just keep to himself and lose himself in the water. He liked to sit at the bottom and watch people moving above. Swim practice was basically the only place he could let his true self slip out a bit.

Too soon, swim was over, and he was walking home. He took the long way, past the library. The building had long windows so you could have a view of the street while reading a book. He saw the large wooden tables towards the back of the room. He pictured Annabeth sitting back there, books splayed across the table, tapping her pencil against a notebook while checking the time on her phone. She would probably glance at the windows every once in awhile, to see if he was walking in.

He pictured her sighing and slowly packing her things back in her backpack after he didn't show. She would probably be chewing the inside of her lip, as she often did when she was contemplating something. Then, slowly, she would stand up and make her way to the exit. She might stall at a few of the shelves, looking at books and glancing at the big windows, waiting to see something, anything. Finally, she would give up and walk out the doors, and the next day, he would lie to her and tell her he just didn't feel like coming. She would finally hate him, and he could maybe remove her from his heart.

His mom was working at the candy shop, so he made his way home. He knew that Gabe had poker nights at one of his sleezy friends' houses on Tuesday nights, and he never came home until the next morning.

It was 6:45, and Percy sat on his bed gingerly, but couldn't bring himself to take off his shoes, knowing he was supposed to be somewhere. He liked to be early for things; he liked watching people, especially people he was there to meet, walk through the door. He would watch their eyes shift around, searching for his face, until finally, it landed and their eyes relaxed a bit as they made their way to him.

He couldn't bring himself to take his jacket off either. He just watched his clock tick the minutes by. Soon, it was 7:00, and he started to pace. He knew that Annabeth hated to be late, so she most likely was there early as well. She probably arrived about ten minutes ago, which meant that she had been waiting for him for ten minutes.

His thoughts went back to when he walked by the library earlier, and he pictured her there, tapping away, and biting her lip. He began to tap his fingers against his thumbs as he watched his clock. He went to the bathroom and threw his sunglasses off. They were beginning to give him a headache. He splashed water on his face, but it did nothing to help.

7:05. Percy was continuously sitting on his bed and then standing back up. He couldn't sit still. All he could think of was Annabeth, sitting there by herself, waiting for him, expecting him to be there. His stomach felt like a knot, and his heart ached. His heart compass was tugging him towards the door, towards the library, towards Annabeth.

7:10. He was able to untie one of his shoes, but he couldn't get it off his foot, and soon enough, it was tied again. He started scratching the back of his neck so much, he was pretty sure it was bleeding.

7:20. He wasn't sure when he left his room, but suddenly he was in the living room, pacing again. His eyes hardly left the clock, and he couldn't stand still. His aching heart was actually beginning to become painful. He tried to go to the kitchen to get some water, but his feet kept leading back to the front door.

7:30. The wind pushed his hair back as he ran through the streets. His heart pushed him forwards; the compass guiding him through the streets and past the people on the sidewalks. He was hoping against hope that she would still be there, waiting for him. That she was giving him the benefit of the doubt. He wasn't thinking about how this was not helping his problem with her, but instead about how much he did not want her to hate him. He so much did not want that.

7:40. His lungs burned like fire, but he kept pushing. He saw the light on the corner of the library's street up ahead.

Suddenly, he was pushing through the door, and a blast of cold air hit him, cooling his sweaty body. He saw the librarian give him a strange look, and he vaguely heard her ask if he was alright. He walked through the library towards the wooden tables, where his heart was throbbing.

He passed a shelf and caught a glimpse of the tables. He saw a few people reading in the two front ones, and in the back one, farthest from the door but with the best view of the windows, sat Annabeth.

 _She's here. She's here!_ he thought, ecstatic.

She had her stuff packed up, and she looked as if she had just stood up as if to leave. She was staring at him as he rushed towards her. As he got closer, he noticed the anger in her steel-colored eyes, and the movement of her mouth as she chewed her lip. He sat down across from her and gave her a genuine smile. He watched as her eyes softened a bit and she gave a small, hesitant smile.

He couldn't explain how happy he was that she had stayed this long to wait for him.

"And here I was. Thinking you weren't coming," she stared at him, trying to read him.

"I promised, didn't I?" he responded, slowly catching his breath, and staring into her eyes.

He watched as she waited a moment before moving her eyes away and moving to unpack her backpack again.

"I see you didn't bring anything," she said without looking at him.

He realized that in his haste, he had forgotten his backpack. He gave her a half smile and a shrug.

"I'm sorry I kept you waiting," he said earnestly as he leaned towards her. His heart had stopped its throbbing, but he still yearned to be closer to her. She was like a magnet, and he couldn't help but feel like he was being pulled to her.

"I guess it's fine. I got some other homework done and... you know, browsed," she gestured towards the book shelves and laughed slightly.

He noticed she was still weary of him. She kept casting furative glances towards him. He could tell her brain was not only working on their project here. He didn't care. He was overjoyed to be alone with her.

"I was actually debating on whether or not to come," he blurted out. It was like the part of his brain that usually called the shots, Gabe's part, was sinking into the shadows as Percy was coming to light.

He watched as her eyes got cold again and she replied, "Well lucky me you showed then."

"But then I realized I couldn't let this reputation," he gestured to his body and smiled at her, "ruin a chance to get a good grade."

She looked at him again and blantantly stared. She was looking at him with such confusion he thought he might've been speaking Greek.

"Since when do you care about grades?" she asked as she arched an eyebrow.

He leaned forward even more as he answered quietly, "Since you do."

She blinked silently at him and quickly looked down. He thought he might've seen a slight blush rise to her cheeks. Just the thought of her blushing made him smile as he leaned back a bit.

"So where do we start?" he asked.

"Well since you don't have any material, I can do some research and you could start working on ideas for the short film?"

"Sure Wise Girl."

She gave him a notebook and a pen and they both set to work. She would write down interesting or important facts and he would bounce ideas off of her.

"Ooh! Idea!" Percy yelled after they had been working for about a half an hour.

"First time for everything," Annabeth smirked at him.

"Haha. Very funny," he sarcastically started, "So during the film we could have 'What is Love' playing in the background, and the have title be, 'Watt is Love'. Eh? What do you think?"

Annabeth laughed and nodded, "I love it."

Percy couldn't help but laugh along. Her laugh filled his heart like his mother's cookie jar.

There would be times that he would be thinking of ideas with his eyes closed and the end of the pencil in his mouth when he felt her staring at him. He would open his eyes and she would look away quickly, with her cheeks turning that shade of pink again.

He wished he could stare without being creepy. She looked like a piece of art. Her hair was thrown haphazardly into a messy bun at the crown of her head. There were pieces of it falling out and framing her face. When his desire to twirl the pieces around his finger became too much, he made an excuse to leave the table.

"I'm gonna go look for some books about Nikola Tesla. Might as well use the place while we've got it," he turned and opened his body towards the shelves.

As he started to walk, he heard her chair push back against the carpet.

"Wait. I'll help. Honestly, the computer screen's starting to hurt my eyes," she smiled and walked next to him.

He felt her body heat radiate onto him and all he wanted to do was brush his hand against hers. He glanced down at her and saw that she was reading the shelves' lables.

"Here we go. I'll check this side, you check the other side," she said, pointing to the same shelf, but different sides of it.

Percy nodded and diligently started looking for the book. He could hear her on the other side, shuffling books around. He began to listen for where she was. He heard her pull out a book, and he pulled out one opposite her.

She appeared in front of him and he saw her reading the back of the book with focused eyes.

"Hi," he said. She looked up at him with a smile that her eyes seemed to follow.

"Fancy seeing you here," she teased, putting her book back.

"Hey!" he exclaimed as his view was now cut off. He could see the top of her head in the little space between the top of the books and the shelf above them.

It was then that his eyes landed on the 'T' section.

"Hey I found one that might work," he called as he pulled it out. He stared at the man with the funny looking facial hair and the puffed out chest on the cover.

Suddenly, Annabeth was beside him and looking at the book over his arm. She reached over to grab the book, and their hands brushed for a moment.

He knew it sounded like such a cliche, but Percy couldn't help but notice how when their hands touched, it felt like electricity passed between them. He wanted to lace his rough fingers between hers and encompass her smaller hand within his.

"Ah. You shocked me," she exclaimed, smiling, while reading the back of the book. He watched her as she read. He thought it was amazing how fast her eyes were moving as she read.

She glanced at the clock on the wall, which read 9:53.

"Oh I've got to get going. I'm supposed to be home by 10." She quickly checked out the book and headed back to their table, Percy in tow.

She packed her things quickly and when Percy tried to hand her the pencil he used, she responded with, "There's enough of your saliva on that, that I think it officially qualifies as yours."

They laughed together and he followed her out to the parking lot where she unlocked her Prius before she turned around to face him.

"So I think we should do more research on Thursday, and on Saturday, we could probably start filming. Is that okay?" she asked, staring up at him in the moonlight.

He thought about how easy it would be to kiss her right now, under the stars. He would put a hand on her waist, and graze another across her cheek as he leaned down and gently placed his lips against her.

"Yeah that sounds good," he responded, shaking his vision.

"Awesome," she smiled and got into her car. He watched as she began to back out before stopping and rolling down her window.

"Do you need a ride?" she yelled to him.

He was genuinly surprised that she would ask such a thing. He figured she wouldn't want to spend extra time in the car with him, especially not after spending two hours with him in the library.

"No I'm okay," he yelled back and waved at her to go ahead.

"Are you sure?" she asked while glancing at the road in front of her.

He smiled at her softly as he replied, "Really. I'm fine."

She smiled back and began to drive away when he saw her hand shoot out the window in a wave and a faint voice yell, "See you tomorrow!"

He chuckled at her and stood there. He looked back at the library's windows and saw their table. He pictured how they were sitting there in mostly silence, both working. He thought about how nice it was to be there with her.

He slid his hands into his pockets and slowly walked home, taking in the night. His mother usually worked nights on Tuesday's and Thursday's, so he had nothing to rush home to.

He took in the night in all it's beauty. He thought about how the stars shined gray like Annabeth's eyes. He began the mindless walk with long, careless strides, which contrasted greatly with the hurried sprint there.

He took slow steps up to his house and into the bathroom to get ready for bed.

He stared at his reflection and the bruised eye he currently sported. He realized that Annabeth looked at that the entire night. That, and his eyes, which he now realized probably gave away his secrets. He then looked down at the counter and saw his sunglasses sitting there, almost like they were waiting for him.

* * *

 **Ugh. I loved writing this, especially Percy's panicked self trying to figure out what to do. Please review! Let me know what you think about this first truly Percabeth moment!**


	7. A New Percy

**I'm trying to find fan art that would work for a cover for this story, but I haven't found what I was looking for yet. I'm trying to find like a sad one with Percy but there really isn't that many. He's just too dang happy. I'll keep looking. I know the FanFiction app has almost all of the cover photos be these weird couches, and my story definitely doesn't focus on a couch. XD**

 **By the way! I got so many reviews on the last chapter thanks so much!**

* * *

Annabeth POV

"Annabeth your first meet-up with your project partner was yesterday, right?" Helen asked Annabeth as she set a bowl of oatmeal in front of her.

Annabeth nodded and silently dug into the bowl.

"How did it go? Did you get a lot of work done? Do you think you'll be able to get it done on time?" Helen continued.

"Jeez our first meeting was yesterday. It was fine." Annabeth pushed her spoon forcefully back into the oatmeal and stirred it around. She knew where this conversation was going and she was already getting irritated.

"Well I just want to make sure you're being responsible with it. You know that it's a big grade which you'll need if you want to graduate as a valedictorian. It all starts here you know."

Annabeth had to bite her tongue to keep from saying something that she'd regret.

"Yes. I know. We're working again tomorrow and on Saturday."

"Who's your partner?" Helen sat down across from Annabeth.

"Percy Jackson."

"Ooh, is he cute?" Helen asked, leaning her head against her hands on the table.

Annabeth thought about how his beautiful green eyes shines when he took off those horrible sunglasses, and how his black hair drifted softly into his eyes, almost as if they were shielding him. She thought about his strong muscles bulged underneath his black t-shirt.

She remembered her surprise when he showed up 40 minutes late last night, and she was especially shocked at the absence of his sunglasses. He had looked so vulnerable and bare... and different. He acted different as well. He was helpful, and kind, and his smile didn't creep her out the way it usually did. The way he looked at her was different too. She wasn't sure if it was the fact that she could actually see his eyes, or if she was just tired. Either way, something had changed. It was as if he were a totally different person.

Her thoughts shocked her, and she immediately began convincing herself that there was nothing more to Percy Jackson than an arrogant asshole. She figured he'd act normal once they were back in school and he had an audience.

"No. He's an ugly person. Inside and out," Annabeth replied as she stood up and walked towards the door.

* * *

She was sitting in class, only a few minutes before the second bell rang when she saw him walk in the room. She watched how his eyes scaned the room before landing on her, and when they made eye contact, he quickly looked away.

She couldn't believe that he still didn't have his sunglasses on. She thought for sure that last night was a strange event that would never happen again. Granted, he was still dressed in all of his black leather, but without the sunglasses... he didn't look like the same stereotypical 'bad boy'.

She was so curious, about the change of look. Was he trying to be a new person? Or were his shades simply broken or lost?

She decided to experiment, so she quickly wrote, 'Hey. I got the video camera ready for us to use on Saturday.' on a piece of paper and tossed it onto Percy's desk when he wasn't looking.

She figured by baiting him like this, he would quickly make a snarky, sexual remark that would crush these thoughts she'd been having.

She watched him raise his eyebrows as he looked at her questionably. She nodded towards the note and he picked it open. She waited for a reaction for awhile until she saw him tighten his lips into a thin line. His brow furrowed and his bangs hung low as he bent his head forward to write. She saw how his back arched as he leaned forward. His left hand held the paper flat as he scribbled with his right.

After a few moments he sat up and looked at Bacchus before making eye contact with her. One corner of his mouth turned up as he flicked the note back onto her desk.

She carefully unfolded the note and saw the crude drawing of a thumbs up. She looked back and saw him giving her a full smile now, along with his own thumbs up.

Annabeth quickly faced forward, her mind calculating. She was so sure he would make a classic Percy comment.

What was he doing? Was he trying to trick her so he could tease her about this later? It certainly seemed like something he would do. At least, it seemed like something he would do before last night.

Who was this person, and what had they done with Percy Jackson?

* * *

Percy POV

Percy got to library about thirty minutes early the next night. He wanted to beat Annabeth there, and see her reaction when she saw him there, before her.

Since Tuesday night, he hadn't been able to force himself to touch his sunglasses. They still rested on his bathroom sink, right next to the mirror. He would look at them in the morning. He contemplated on putting them on to face the day in a darker shade, but he thought of Annabeth when he would reach for them.

He wanted to see her in all her bright glory. He couldn't let his sunglasses dull the view anymore. He took care to not look at her too long, constantly reminding himself that he was no longer under the cover of his shades. He was also aware that she was trying to figure him out. He saw how she stared at him like he was a math problem she was trying to solve. He tried to keep his eyes from showing his emotions, so whenever she looked at him, he would begin to read. Reading frustrated him, and that was the emotion that he needed to display. He knew that continuing to wear the aviators would be the safe move, but he couldn't make himself do it.

He watched her blue Prius pull into the parking lot and he steeled himself. She pulled herself out of the car and brought her backpack along with her.

He saw her open the door and move her eyes towards the direction of the back table. She saw Percy there and started towards him. He watched how she kept her head up while she walked, something that he had such a hard time with. She had her backpack over one shoulder and the other arm swung by her side. She glanced around the library, looking at the few people that were mingling about the shelves. Finally, she reached the table and dropped her bag.

"Hello, Wise Girl. Nice drive?" he asked.

She ignored him and said, "Quite a change Seaweed Brain. First you're forty minutes late, now your early."

"Nikola Tesla is very important to me," he replied, watching as she set out her material.

"Great. Then you can start looking in the book for interesting information. I'll search the internet," she said while handing him the book they checked out on Tuesday. She pulled out a laptop with a Delta on the cover.

"Now that doesn't look like an Apple product," Percy pushed the book to the side of the table, ignoring it.

Annabeth gave a small chuckle and replied, "Actually they make apples in the shape of triangles in Japan. The company started up there, so they're changing their logo in honor of their home country."

Percy felt like an idiot at that moment. He wasn't very tech savvy, and he especially did not know that. He felt his ears start to heat up and he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Oh," he said as he pulled the book towards him, eager for a way out of this embarrassing conversation.

"I'm just kidding!" she exclaimed as she laughed at his reaction.

Before he knew it, he was laughing as well. He couldn't help how contagious her laugh was.

When they had both stopped laughing she continued, "It was my Uncle Daedalus's."

"That's cool. I like it. Especially the Delta. It's unique," Percy replied.

"Thanks. It's got a lot of projects he was working on on it. It's really interesting to read through all of his inventions. It's fascinating how he created such genius ideas."

Percy laughed at this, which caused Annabeth to raise her eyebrows in an annoyed way.

"And what's so ammusing?" She asked. Percy could tell that she assumed he was dissing her uncle, which, he was definitely _not_ doing.

"You're just so nerdy, Wise Girl. I like it," he said.

He didn't realize what he'd said until he saw a small blush hit her cheeks and she turned towards her laptop. This made his ears burn like a candle, and he had to look away as well. He was so bad at filtering what he said around her.

"We should probably get started," she suggested.

Percy's attention shifted toward the book. Dread filled his body as he realized it would take him years to finish it. He didn't want Annabeth to think he was stupid though, so he picked it up anyway.

The first page was horrible. His eyes played tricks on him and the letters danced across the page like ballet dancers. It took him about ten minutes to get through the first paragraph, and even then the reading was so boring he hardly remembered it.

He assumed he looked incredibly dumb attempting to read, and he figured that was why Annabeth noticed.

"Are you okay?" she asked looking at him with her eyebrows drawn together in that calculating way again.

Percy's head shot up and he quickly responded, "Yeah, yeah I'm fine."

"Okay." It was obviously a cue to begin work again, but instead, she just stared at him. He didn't want to start reading again and have her watch, so he just stared back. For awhile there, Percy wasn't really sure what was going on. Why was she staring at him? When should he look away? Is this as weird for her as it is for me?

After a few moments, Annabeth's glance retreated back to the laptop and he felt himself release a breath he didn't know he had been holding. He returned to reading, and every once in awhile he would feel her gaze on him. He would look up and she would glance away.

It was about thirty more minutes before they talked again. At which point, Percy was on page two.

"Percy, do you have a reading disorder?" Annabeth asked, pushing away her laptop completely.

The question startled him. He figured people just thought he was dull when they saw he couldn't read at 17 years old.

"I'm, uh... dyxlexic," he answered quietly. He noticed that he suddenly couldn't meet her eyes, so he kept them on the glowing Delta on the cover of her laptop. He felt like such an idiot that she noticed. Was it really that noticeable? He thought he could hide it better than that.

He bit his tongue as he felt her staring at him. What was she thinking right now? How unlucky she was to get a partner with the reading ability of a five year old?

He cleared his throat and brought his eyes back to the book, hoping to just forget that ever happened.

"Me too," she said quietly. His head snaped up as he stared at her in wonder. She must be lying to him to make him feel better. She always volunteers to read out loud in class, and she always has her nose stuck in a book.

"Seriously? But you read all the time," Percy said, perplexed.

She gave a small laugh and replied, "I know. I love to read. I'm not going to let a learning disorder take that away from me."

Percy thought about how difficult it must be reading all the time. He couldn't even imagine reading through an entire book, especially just for fun. He liked that they had something in common, even if it was a dumb reading disorder.

"Plus," she continued, "It's great practice." She smiled at him and kept trying to look into his eyes.

"I think it's really cool you don't let it consume you," Percy said, watching her soft gray eyes stare back into his.

He saw her cheeks turn a light shade of pink and she glanced away for a moment before looking back at him.

"Thanks. I've had to work at it, but it's been worth it... I can, um... help you, if you want." Annabeth turned her head away from him and began to pick at her fingernails.

Percy couldn't help but let his smile grow on his face. He looked at her, and he could've sworn she was glowing. Strands of her golden hair hung low around her face, with the rest pulled into a low bun. Her face was still tinged pink, and her gray eyes looked like the sky on a lightly cloudy day.

"I would really like that... thank you Annabeth," Percy responded as her eyes slowly met hers.

She smiled softly at him and replied, "Of course."

Percy nodded and found that he couldn't tear his eyes from the gaze of hers. They stayed like that for a moment, eyes staring into each other, trying to answer the question that was the other.

Finally, Annabeth shifted her gaze to the book in his hand. She reached towards it and pulled it towards her, while pushing her laptop towards him.

"Here, we can switch."

Percy nodded and began to reach for her laptop. She pulled back a bit when he was about to touch it and said, "Now, I don't let anyone use this because it's very precious to me. So that means you must be oh so very careful with it."

"I will," he said, laughing at her worries.

"I mean it. No lifting it off the table," she stared at him menacingly until he agreed.

He put his hands in the air and raised his eyebrows. "Okay! I won't!"

She continued to stare at him with one eyebrow raised. He felt himself lean towards her in a way that he usually would do when he would pretend to hit on girls, especially her. He didn't stop until his face was only about half a foot away from hers. His face wore a sincere expression, and he slowly put his hand on top of hers where it lay on the computer. He watched as her eyes got larger in surprise, and she stared into his eyes, almost as if in a trance.

He thought about how easily he could move closer and closer, until their lips touched gently. His lips tingled at the thought of it, and he had to remind himself over and over why he should _not_ do that under any circumstances.

He lowered his voice and whispered, "I promise no harm will come to your laptop, Wise Girl."

Instead of the normal pink shade, her cheeks turned a bright red, and he felt her hand loosen on the laptop. He pulled it towards him and returned to himself, flashing a full-tooth smile at her in a triumphant way.

He opened the lid of the computer and began to work. Eventually, he heard the book open, and the pages starting to turn.

* * *

Annabeth POV

"So did you _think_ he was going to kiss you?" Piper asked as she lay on her back on the floor in Annabeth's room.

"I honestly had no idea," Annabeth answered, also laying on her back on the floor. Their feet were resting against the other's in the air.

"What would you have done if he had?" asked Hazel from where she sat on the bed.

"Oh. I definitely would have pushed him away."

"Suuuure," Thalia said, spinning herself in Annabeth's desk chair.

"I definitely would _not_ let him kiss me. Are you kidding? It's Percy Jackson!" Annabeth exclaimed, putting her feet down and staring at the ceiling.

She would've, wouldn't she? She thought about if he had closed the distance between them in that moment. She thought about his soft lips caressing hers, and his soft, black bangs brushing against her forehead as her hand reached out to touch his strong jaw, and his hand gently rested on her cheek, and...

She immediately dispeled those thoughts once she realized she was having them. No. She would have definitely push Percy away. Probably smacked him too.

"Well he is attractive, you have to give him that," Hazel said.

Piper pointed her finger in the air and added, "I give him that!"

Thalia gave a half nod, half shrug and they all turned to look at Annabeth.

"No way. Eww." She was fully aware she was lying, but she would never admit to anyone how attractive she really thought he was. With those sea-green eyes and chalkboard black hair how could she not?

"Do you like girls or something? There is no way you could think Percy Jackson is ugly," Piper exclaimed as she sat herself up.

"I mean, I think we can agree he is a horrible person, but I'll bet you a hundred bucks he's got some abs under those black clothes," Hazel said, moving so she was laying on her stomach on the bed.

The other girls laughed and agreed with her, but Annabeth wasn't sure how she felt about that. Not about that abs part, she would've bet money he had them, but she couldn't quite convince herself that he was as nasty as he seemed. When he was with her, he was funny, playful, and even kind. Ever since Tuesday, he hasn't been as gross and arrogant as he usually was. In fact, now that she thought about it, Annabeth couldn't remember one time since Tuesday that he had made an offensive comment to her. It was almost as if he was a totally different person.

"Let's just change the subject," Annabeth stated as she laid back down.

"Annie do you still like Luke?" Thalia asked, throwing a food wrapper at her.

"Definitely not," she said. "I thought he was attractive the first few days, but after the way he treated Grover? Never in any lifetime."

"Yeah he's a bad egg," Hazel agreed.

"No. He's an asshole," Piper said.

"You guys weren't going to actually let me fall for him, right?" Annabeth asked.

She could think of nothing worse than having feelings for an oaf like him.

"Oh definitely not. We were just going to let you figure out he was a lumbering jerk who gets off on other's misery," Thalia said, causing the others to laugh.

"At least Percy isn't Luke," Piper pointed out to Annabeth.

Annabeth agreed whole heartedly with that. Luke was a cold person who felt that power was more important than decency. Percy, on the other hand, seemed only to pretend to not care about anything or anyone. If someone had asked her what she thought about Percy Jackson on Monday, she would've told them the extent to which she hated him. She would've mentioned his disgusting remarks to everyone, especially her, and his stupid sunglasses, and his weird bruises and scars that he probably did to himself for his 'image'.

But Tuesday changed everything for Annabeth. She couldn't say that she hated Percy Jackson anymore, not even in her head. Instead, she felt like she was getting to know a new Percy. This new person she had met on Tuesday night had to be the polar opposite of the Percy she met on the first day of school. The new Percy made her laugh and said kind things to her instead of things that made her want to vomit. She felt a connection with him as well. Not only the fact that they both were suffering from dyslexia. Annabeth felt like she had an obligation to get to know the real him.

She decided that she didn't mind this new Percy; in fact, she was glad she got to see this new side of him. The question was, though, if would he be here to stay.

* * *

 **By the way, the sleepover at the end is on Friday night. I know that this chapter had a pretty fast pace, but I had to keep the story rolling!**

 **I'll keep writing if you keep reviewing! Every single review just brightens my day. Please review! :D**


	8. Breathe

**I'm sorry for the hiatus everyone. I've been super busy with my play ending and softball season starting up, and the quarter ending and homework being relentless and clubs and this sentence is so grammatically incorrect it's ridiculous but that's okay. But don't worry! Things are calmer now and I'm on spring break right now, so I should be able to get back on a normal schedule. And I will be using spring break to catch up so stay tuned. ;). Now... without further ado...**

* * *

Annabeth POV

"Seaweed Brain... are you wearing makeup?" Annabeth asked as she sat down across from Percy at their usual table in the library. It was 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, and they were meeting for the final time for their project. Annabeth's eyebrows shot in the air as soon as she saw him.

He had put foundation all over his face to cover up the bruises, but if you looked hard enough, you could still catch the green around his jaw and eye. He had on a white shirt with a printed collar and tie on it. She assumed it was the most formal thing he ownded. She had to give him credit for caring and destroying his manhood in the process. He had even colored on a mustache with eyeliner.

"Why, yes indeed Wise Girl," Percy replied, smirking at her and leaning forward in his seat.

"May I ask why?" she said, also leaning on the table, smirking.

"Well Nikola Tesla certaintly didn't have bruises on his jaw, now did he?" he smirked. "I figured I should look as convincing as possible."

"Ah. Well that must explain the hair then," she smirked as she leaned forward to touch it.

Percy quickly leaned back and gently touched his hair to make sure it was still intact.

"Careful! This took me like thirty minutes this morning!" he exlaimed.

His hair was on a whole new level. It was obvious that he had taken great care to make it exactly like Tesla's. He parted his hair right down the middle and gelled it until it had the consistency of cement.

Annabeth couldn't look at him without busting out laughing. It was funnier to her how different he looked and how when she first met him, she could have bet a million dollars that Percy would never act like the guy who sat before her.

"Alright I've let you have your laugh Wise Girl," Percy pretended to twirl his 'mustache'. "Now ask me your first question as I'm very busy with inventing electricity and beating Edison and other things."

* * *

By the time they had finished, it was 3:00 and raining. They had walked out to the parking lot, and Percy began to look around the parking lot.

"What? You didn't drive?" he asked.

"Well it was a nice day when I left, so I figured I would walk. I guess that wasn't such a good idea."

Percy gave a small laugh and put his hand out in front of him. "Well, lead the way."

"What? No, Percy it's fine. I can walk home by myself," Annabeth said a bit sternly.

"Hmm. Yes I'm quite sure you can. It _looks_ as if you have two working legs, though I could be mistaken," he put his hand under his chin and began to stroke his jaw in a thinking motion.

Annabeth held a straight face for as long as she could, which didn't prove to be very long. Despite her efforts, she laughed and rolled her eyes.

"After you," Percy said as he once again put his hand out in front of him and bowed slightly.

"You're so full of it, Jackson," Annabeth smiled as she walked past him in the direction of her house.

She felt Percy's presence next to her, and she looked up to see him smiling down at her. The rain was starting to make his makeup run and his hair become more normal. He absentmindedly pushed a hand through his hair and when it fell back to his side, it brushed against her own hand. She felt her face heat up and she quickly looked in the other direction and grabbed ahold of the straps of her backpack.

"I love the rain," Percy said after an awkard silence.

"Ugh. I hate the rain. It gives me a headache," Annabeth replied.

"But it smells and tastes oh so good." Percy dipped his head back and stuck his tongue out.

Annabeth snickered and held her hand out to catch some raindrops. "Yeah, but you get drenched. Even my socks get wet, and I _hate_ wet socks."

"Well I don't think anyone necessarily enjoys wet socks," Percy remarked with his face still facing the sky.

"So why do you like the rain then?" Annabeth asked, watching as his tongue slowly retreated back into his mouth and he looked down at her.

"Well, I like the sound of raindrops hitting my window. And I like how it feels when the drops slowly hit my skin until I'm drenched but it doesn't really feel like it, you know? Like I know my skin's wet but since everything else is wet too, I feel dry." Percy shrugged and smiled down at Annabeth.

"That makes absolutely no sense," Annabeth laughed, which caused Percy to laugh as well.

"You just need to stand in the rain, close your eyes, and let your mind leave your body."

Percy stopped on the sidewalk and gently grabbed her arm to stop her. Being honest, Percy really didn't need to grab her arm to stop her. She was pretty sure she would have stopped in her tracks if he simply touched her.

"Oh wow. We're doing this now, huh?" Annabeth asked, watching as Percy turned her to face him. He pulled her towards him until they were only a few feet apart. She felt her cheeks begin to heat up again as she stared at him and watched as he stared at her.

"Oh yes. I must teach you, young padawan," Percy smiled and continued, "Now lean your head back slightly and close your eyes."

He did just that, but Annabeth couldn't force her eyes closed. She was entranced by him.

"Are they closed?" he asked without opening his own eyes.

Annabeth took a deep breath before answering, "Yes."

He smiled and continued, "Good. Now, while keeping your eyes closed, tilt your head back until the drops hit your face. Feel the raindrops on your skin. Let your mind slip away from reality."

He paused before asking, "Is it working?"

"Mmhmm," Annabeth mumbled as she watched him. He looked at peace standing there, becoming drenched. Who was this boy standing before her? This boy was the farthest thing from the Percy Jackson she had met on her first day. He was snarky, annoying, and disturbing, but this Percy... well, he was someone she wanted to get to know.

Suddenly, Percy's voice became extremely articulate as he said, "This is your sleeping ASMR."

Annabeth busted out laughing, as did he. He swiped a wet piece of hair from his forehead and began walking again.

"We should probably get going," he said. "It's starting to rain harder."

They walked the last few blocks to her house. Soon, too soon for Annabeth, they were on her front porch. She was surprisingly pleased that her small porch forced them to stand close to each other.

"Thanks for walking me home. You really didn't have to do that," Annabeth said while fidgeting with her hands and her eyes looking everywhere but him. She couldn't explain it, but she was suddenly nervous.

"Of course, Wise Girl. You never know the dangers that lurk in this neighborhood." She could feel his eyes looking at her. She smiled and slowly raised her gaze to his eyes and they stayed like that for a moment.

She saw his hand slowly rise to her face. She definitely had time to pull away, but she found that she didn't want to. Her stomach cinched as his hand inched closer to her face. The moment his callused fingers brushed the skin at her temple, she felt an explosion of butterflies in her stomach.

He gently pushed a wet curl behind her ear and let his hand hestitate near her jaw. Was he going to kiss her? Did she want him to?

Suddenly the front door swung open and Helen stood there.

Percy cleared his throat and his hand shot to the back of his neck. His ears turned a vivid shade of red and he quickly said, "I'll, uh, see you Monday, Wise Girl."

She watched as he walked off her front steps and started down the street.

"Who was that?" Helen asked as she leaned against the door frame, smiling.

"I... I don't know," Annabeth said incredulously. She hastily went inside and up to her room and looked out her window to see Percy at the end of the block.

He was walking towards the next street and almost out of view, but before he rounded the corner, he turned around and looked at her house. She wasn't sure if he could see her, so she gave a small wave. He slowly gave a wave back, and promptly walked out of her sight.

Annabeth sighed and sat by the window, lost in her thoughts. What had just happened? She wasn't sure who this new Percy was, but she found that she desperately wanted him to stay.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed Piper's number.

"Hello?" Piper answered.

"Piper... I, uh, I think I have a crush on Percy Jackson."

* * *

Percy POV

Percy couldn't believe what he just did. Was he crazy? He hadn't acted that way since... well since he was 13.

He was about halfway between his house and Annabeth's, which actually weren't that far apart. Why did he touch her hair? She probably thought he was some creep who couldn't control himself. Though, on the other hand, she almost looked like she was going to kiss him before her mom opened the door. He must have read the situation wrong because there's no way she would've done that. She would never voluntarily kiss him, right?

Oh he was so confused. He took a step onto the street and lowered himself onto the curb. He stared at his reflection in the water rushing into the guters.

For the first time in a very, very long time, he finally felt like himself. He had missed the old him. He was torn between being glad that Annabeth brought that part of him back, and being worried about it. He knew this would come back to bite him later, but he couldn't help but grin at the thought of her. She really was just perfect.

She had looked so beautiful, standing there in the rain, he had to really force himself to leave. He could've spent an eternity staring into her eyes, feeling the electricity between them. Surely, she had to have felt it too.

He thought about how much he wanted to march back to her door and kiss her in the rain. Honestly, he would be just fine if he could just hear her voice. Her voice was music to his ears. He wasn't sure how he ever lived without it.

He sat there a little while longer, watching the rain drops pummel his blurred reflection. Eventually, he got up and continued the trek to his house.

When he opened the door, his good mood was immediately washed away. There he was, Smelly Gabe, angrily watching Tv while downing beer after beer. It was clear by the amount of cans on the floor that he was already drunk.

He had heard Percy come in, and he turned towards him. He immediately saw the anger set on his face.

"What are you wearing? Are you trying to make people ask questions?" he roared, standing up.

"It's for a project," Percy said, looking off into the distance.

"A project? I think you need a reminder of who you are," Gabe kept walking until his face was about a foot away from Percy's. While Percy towered a good three inches over him, Gabe didn't seem threatened by him.

Gabe pushed him backwards and began to take his belt off.

"We're gonna try something new. Take off your shirt and turn around," Gabe ordered, sliding his belt off of his pants. Percy stood there for a moment, hesitating.

"Do as I say!" Gabe yelled. Percy scrambled to take his shirt off and turn around. Was he about to whip him?

"You did this to yourself, Prissy," Gabe said. Percy stared at the beige wall while he waited. Gabe had never done this before, and Percy wasn't sure what to expect. If he was honest with himself, he was scared.

He heard the whoosh of air before the leather made contact with his back. He screamed in pain as the leather of the belt smacked his skin. He fell forwards onto his knees and breathed heavily.

"One."

Seconds later there was another whoosh and the Percy cried out once more. His back felt like it was aflame. He could feel his back muscles throbbing and he had to bite his lip so as not to cry. He wouldn't give the bastard the satisfaction.

By the eighth one, Percy could hardly see he was in so much pain. He couldn't feel the individual spot on his back that the belt struck; instead, when it hit, it felt like it hit his entire body. He could feel that his face was wet, but he was pretty sure it was the blood from the lip he was biting.

He heard that damned whoosh and felt the pain of another hit. He cried out and began to see black spots. He felt another lash and everything went dark.

He suddenly felt like he was drowning. He was drowning and he couldn't swim. Why couldn't he swim? He pushed his arms to move him upwards, but he wasn't moving. He saw the calm ripples of water above him, and a light shining down on him. He couldn't hold his breath any longer, and he slowly felt himself sink further and further away from the light.

Suddenly, he saw a hand reach down. He quickly grabbed it, and was pulled out of the water. His head reached the surface and he took an enormous breath. Finally... finally he could breathe.

"There you are Seaweed Brain." Percy looked up and saw Annabeth smiling at him from a dock. Her hair was down, and there was a slight breeze that pushed her curls out of her face. She had a flower crown perched in her hair, which matched her light blue dress.

"Annabeth?" he asked, bewildered, but relieved.

She giggled and responded, "Last time I checked."

He smiled and leaned his elbows on the edge of the dock. She pushed his hair back and he watched as she began to frown.

"What's wrong Percy?" she asked, leaning forwards.

Percy found that he couldn't lie, not to her, not right now. So, instead, he spilled.

"I just wish... I just wish I could be with you. I mean truly be with you, as my true self. Not in this facade that I'm constantly wearing. I just wish I could show you my true self. I think you'd like him. He certainly likes you."

Percy smiled at her and held her hand against his cheek that surprisingly wasn't wet.

"Then just show me," she replied, smiling warmly at him.

"But it's not that easy, you see. Gabe would kill me if I became myself. Too many questions." Percy looked into the distance and let anger slip into his voice.

"Hmm. That's a real predicament," she giggled again and Percy looked at her in surprise. Now that he thought about it, he hasn't heard Annabeth giggle before.

"Annabeth?" he asked, looking at her questioningly.

"But! While you certainly have a problem here. It seems like you know the answer," she said, turning serious once more.

"But I don't," he said, feeling confused.

"What is the one thing that doesn't fit, hmm? What is the one thing that has ruined the life you were supposed to have?"

"Gabe," Percy said immediately.

Annabeth giggled again and touched his nose, "Ding, ding, ding! You win!"

Percy touched his nose gingerly and asked, "This isn't real is it?"

"Oh of course not. But it's fun though, isn't it?" Annabeth smiled down at him and ran her fingers over his jaw.

"Where am I?" Percy asked, starting to become alarmed.

"Just relax. You'll be back in a moment. Just remember, Percy. You can't give up. Don't let Gabe win. He shouldn't get to control your life, Percy. It's _your_ life. So live it. Don't shove down the real you. He needs to breathe too."

"I-" Percy began.

"Just breathe, Percy. Just breathe."

Percy heard her voice begin to fade, and everything became blurry.

"Annabeth?" he called out to her, reaching his hands out to touch her.

Suddenly he woke up laying face down on the floor. He stared at the wooden boards as he heard Gabe tell him to get up. Percy took a breath and slowly rose to his feet. His back felt like it was on fire, and he thought he might scream. Right when he thought he was about to sink back down to his knees, he heard Annabeth's soft voice tell him, _"_ _Breathe."_

He set his face and rose to his feet, facing Gabe. He held his chin up high and used his height to his advantage.

"You're weak," Gabe spat.

Percy stood stoically silent as he stared at Gabe with as much hatred as he could muster. He wasn't going to be afraid of this sad little man any longer.

"Get me a beer and get out of my sight." Gabe went and sat down in his chair.

Percy slowly walked to the fridge and dropped the beer in his hand before slowly climbing the stairs. When he got there, he laid in his bed on his stomach. He stared at his closet where his fake clothes were. He reached under his bed and pulled out a box. His mom had gotten him a blue hoodie every year since Gabe showed up, hoping he would change back to his old self.

He took out the most recent one and hung it on his closet door. He laid back on his bed and stared at it.

He decided that he was done. He was done being Gabe's play thing, and he was done being someone he wasn't. Though he had a new resolve, he knew he couldn't change completely. He couldn't be who he wanted to be just yet. Soon, but not yet.

And if it was the last thing he would do, he would make Gabe pay for everything he had put him through.

* * *

 **Wowza that was intense. Lots of stuff going on in this chapter. Yay for Percy though, am I right? Please review and let me know what you think of Percy's new attitude XD.**


	9. Twilights from the Garden

**So I still feel bad about being gone for awhile and I'm so in the groove right now, and as mentioned in the last chapter I'm was on spring break and I had time this week and I also love you all so HERE'S A PRESENT FROM GOOD OLE ME. XD.**

 **P.S.(Another period afterwards? I have no idea.) I listen to Paramore and Twenty One Pilots a lot when I write because it gets me in the right feels. I thought I'd mention that in case you guys want to get in the same headspace as you read it. Idk. OKAY HAVE FUN BYE**

* * *

Percy POV

Percy didn't want to say he had been avoiding Annabeth, but he was avoiding her. It's not that he didn't know what to say to her, it was that he was afraid he would say too much. He wanted to tell her what he wanted to do before her mom opened the door. He wanted to tell her how much he liked her.

But, he didn't want to scare her off. Not when things just started going well. So yeah, he was avoiding her. This strategy worked wonderfully until lunch time.

Percy had his bagged lunch in hand and was walking to his lonely table, observing the room around him. Annabeth was sitting with her back facing him, and it looked like she was talking to Piper who sat across from her.

He watched as Piper made eye contact with him and quickly began talking to Annabeth. He saw her back strain and her head turn slightly before Piper said something and she snapped back around. Strange. Percy couldn't help but cock an eyebrow in their direction. Piper kept glancing at him furtively and whispering forcefully at Annabeth.

He turned his gaze to his table as he made his way forward. He had just passed their table when he heard Annabeth yell, "Percy!"

He whipped his head around so fast at the sound of her voice, that his neck pinched.

"Do you want to sit with us?" she asked, her cheeks tinged a shade of pink.

Percy was shocked. Did he want to sit with them? He only dreamed of it every single day. He weighed his options. If he sat with them, he would be that much closer to completely ruining his reputation. Though, then he would be giving Gabe exactly what he wanted, which wasn't going to happen anymore.

So, he smiled and made his way to the table. Piper scooted over and Percy squeezed next to her on the end. He could feel the eyes of everyone in the cafeteria watching him. They were probably shocked that Annabeth asked him in the first place, let alone that he actually agreed. Percy felt the heat rise to the tips of his ears, and he absentmindedly rubbed the back of his neck.

After an awkward silence, Piper started, "So, Percy. How's your mom?"

"Oh, she's good. Overworked and underpaid, but good."

"That's good," she replied, turning to her lunch. Then she turned back and said, "Not the overworked and underpaid part, that's not good. The 'she's good' part is good... I'm glad your mother's good."

She gave an embarrassed smile and turned back to her lunch. Percy chuckled and began to unravel his lunch bag. He hoped they weren't regretting their decision. Should he just leave?

"Ow!" Annabeth yelped as she glared daggers at Piper, who, in turn, was giving her a pointed look. Annabeth gave her a sarcastically sweet smile before she turned to Percy and the group.

"So, Frank, Percy, how's the swim team?" she asked.

"Great!" Frank said from down the table. Percy nodded in agreement. "Especially Percy. Man I don't know how you do it! You're like Poseidon or something!"

Percy felt the tips of his ears heat up again as he responded, "Oh. Thanks, Frank. You're really great too. Very, um... fast."

Thankfully, Frank either didn't pick up on the awkwardness, or thought it would be better to pretend it wasn't there. Either way, Percy was glad when he just said, "Thanks man!" in a very nonchalant way.

"Yeah, we've got sectionals in a few weeks and we're training real hard for it, right Perce?" Frank added.

Percy found it so odd how comfortable Frank was with him. Sure, they had been on the same team for a few years now, but honestly, Percy was never nice to him. He wasn't necessarily mean, but he would always shoot down Frank's attempts at friendship. No matter how many times Percy would blantantly ignore his niceness, he would always try again. It was like he was too pure to notice Percy was trying to ignore him. He couldn't tell if it was distressing or comforting.

"Yup," Percy replied, feeling a bit awkward.

Seemingly content with his answer, Frank turned back to Hazel and Jason. Percy took the opportunity to try to spark up a conversation with Annabeth, who had been oddly silent.

"Thanks for inviting me to sit with you guys," he said, looking into her eyes. They were a light gray this morning, and they looked stunning. He swore they were the exact color of the sky on a cloudy day. She had her hair in a low bun with those cursed curls framing her face.

"Oh no problem. I always thought you seemed a bit lonely over there by yourself," she replied, not really meeting his eyes. Percy rubbed the back of his neck and tried in vain to think of a witty comment.

Instead, an awkward silence followed until Annabeth said, "I really wasn't too sure you'd say yes, honestly."

Her gaze rose to meet his and look into his eyes. She seemed to be searching them, looking for something. Too bad she didn't know all she had to do was ask him. He would do anything for her.

Percy gave an easy smile and said, "I'd much rather eat lunch with you." He realized too late what he said and he felt his whole face heat up. "With you _guys_. I'd much rather eat lunch with _you guys_ than alone."

Annabeth blushed and smiled as she looked down toward her food. Percy saw Piper smiling as she watched the encounter with glee.

With a face resembling a tomato, he continued to eat his lunch until the bell rang. He wasn't lying. Lunch with Annabeth and her friends proved to be Percy's best lunch ever.

* * *

Percy waited by the main exit after school. He was pretty sure this was the way Annabeth went out, but after waiting ten minutes, he was having second thoughts. He should've just waited by her car, what was he thinking? He felt confident after the lunch situation, but now he was doubting himself. He just wanted to spend time with her is all. That wasn't a crime, right? She wouldn't think he was creepy, right?

He walked out the door and was about halfway down the sidewalk when he heard the door open. He turned and there she was. She hadn't seen him yet. Her eyes were focused on the sky, and her hands were casually holding her backpack straps. The light breeze pushed her hair in her face slightly, and she gently pushed it behind her ears. The little voice in his head was screaming at him to keep walking and pretend he didn't see her. He just needed to get out while he still could.

No! He could do this. Lunch was fine, this would be too. _Don't let Gabe win_ , he thought as he took a deep breath and walked over to her.

"Hey Annabeth."

Her eyes shot down and when she saw him, she smiled slightly. His stomach was full of static as he watched her eyes relax a bit. This wasn't so bad.

"Hey Percy."

He knew that if he waited any longer he would chicken out, so he blurted, "Hey, so umm... I know we talked before about you helping me with my reading and how we could stick to the same schedule as our project, but... um... I was free tonight and wondering-"

"Percy what are you doing right now?" she asked, smiling at him.

He suddenly felt panic. What did she mean? Oh gods he was just embarassing himself. Why did he think this was a good idea? How much worse would this be if he just ran away? No, no, no. He came here for a reason. The real Percy would stick this through.

He cleared his throat and answered, "Well, uh... I guess I'm asking if you'd want to get together tonight and-"

"No, Percy," she laughed her loud, contagious laugh. "I meant what are you doing after you're done being flustered over this question?"

"Oh," Percy rubbed his neck and tried to fight the incoming blush. He awkwardly forced a smile and continued, "Nothing. Coach is sick, so no practice today."

How did she make him blush this much? He swore he spent more time blushing with her than actually speaking.

"Nice," she said, her own face beginning to turn pink. "Would you want to, umm... come over for dinner?"

At first, Percy was too shocked to say anything, and it was obvious Annabeth took that in a bad way.

"You totally don't have to, it's okay. I just thought, like, we could eat dinner and then do the reading stuff but I totally get it if you don't want to come over. I mean, it's so nice outside and you probably have so many other things to do, and I think I'll head out now. I'll just text you some tips."

She started speedwalking past him and towards the parking lot before he got his wits about him.

"Annabeth!" he called. He couldn't help but laugh as he said her name.

She turned to look at him, her face completely engulfed by her embarassment. He started walking towards her and waited to speak until he was face to face with her.

"I'd love to."

He gave her a lopsided smile and her face immediately broke into relief. However, her blush just deepend and they began to walk towards her car.

"Who's flustered now?" he smiled down at her as they walked side to side and watched as she blushed, somehow, even harder.

"Shut it, Seaweed Brain," she said playfully as they got into her car.

The ride from the school to Annabeth's house was filled with comfortable small talk. Thankfully, the awkwardness between the two earlier had dissipated when they got in the car.

As they parked and walked to her front door, Percy began to feel nervous. He remembered the last time he was here, and his stomach squeezed itself into a knot. Annabeth used her key to open the door waited for him to go ahead of her.

"Guests firsts," she said, motioning forwards.

"I'm pretty sure the expression is ladies first, but I'll take it." He smirked and walked past her.

He stepped in and marvelled at the sheer normalcy of their house. There were family pictures all over the walls, which were painted gray and white. It looked so fancy that Percy felt immediately out of place.

"You've got a lovely home," Percy said, turning to face Annabeth.

"Thanks. My dad designed it himself," she replied, hanging her coat on a rack and taking her shoes off. Percy followed suit, feeling exposed in his tight red t-shirt and socks.

"Really? He designs houses?" he asked, following Annabeth as she began to walk upstairs. Percy followed and found that her butt was right there. He knew he shouldn't, but he couldn't avert his eyes. She had a really nice butt. Gods he was such a creep. He forced his gaze to move down to her ankles.

"Not just houses. He does fancy buildings too. He works with the architectural company that designed that new building up on Fifth."

"Oh I've seen that. That looks cool." They leveled out on the second floor and moved down the hallway. They walked past a few doors before coming to the end. On the right, there was a door with the names Matthew and Bobby on it. The other door, which Annabeth was opening, was plain.

"Do you have brothers?" he asked as she opened the door to her room. The red walls were in stark contrast to the rest of the house's gray ones. She had white furniture, and a bookshelf that was so full, Percy was sure it was about to fall over. She had a bay window with a bench on it, which was where she chose to sit. He followed suit and sat on the cushioned bench. She had a nice view from here. He could see the corner where she waved to him the other evening.

"Yeah, and they'll be home soon, so I'm sorry in advance."

"Sorry about what?" he asked, realizing that he had sat as far as he possibly could from her on the bench. What was he _doing_? He had wanted to spend time with her, not make her feel like she had a contagious disease.

"They're just... excessive," she said.

"Oh. Okay." Percy let his eyes wander about her room before adding, "I really like you're room. It's very different from the rest of the house."

She gave a small laugh and said, "Thanks. _Helen_ thinks so too."

"The way you say her name makes me think she sees it differently than I do," Percy smiled and watched Annabeth's face turn to annoyance as she talked about her.

Sarcasm dripped from her voice as she said, "You've got that right. I guess there's too much individuality in this room or something equally as horrible."

Percy laughed as he replied, "I'm sure you're mom doesn't think that."

Annabeth turned deathly serious before stating, "She's not-"

The front door smashed open and noise exploded in the quiet house. Percy heard kids screaming and little feet stomping around.

"Annabeth! We're home!" a woman called as the smaller footsteps ran crazily through the house and began yelling, "Annie, Annie!"

"Brace yourself," she said before standing up and walked out the door.

Percy looked down at himself and wished he didn't wear skinny jeans. As he walked past her mirror, he tried to fix his hair and made sure there was nothing in his teeth. His mother always stressed to him that first impressions were everything. He couldn't expect to be liked if he didn't make a good first impression.

"Are you done grooming, yet?" Annabeth asked as she came back in the doorway. There's the blush again.

"You can't rush beauty," he said, quickly following her down the stairs. He felt butterflies in his stomach as he hit the bottom step and saw a woman bent over the kitchen table. The same woman, in fact, who had interrupted them the other day.

She looked up at him and paused for a moment in surprise before saying, "Well now I have been _dying_ to meet _you_."

She gave a pointed look and a big smile to Annabeth before turning back to him.

"You've been here before, yes?" she asked, looking like she was having way too much fun.

"Uh... yes. Well, just the porch," he said, feeling incredibly dumb and embarassed. He thought about how angry she must be with him for almost corrupting her daughter. She probably thought he was an idiot unworthy of Annabeth. Well, that last part was definitely true. Who was truly worthy of a goddess?

Mrs. Chase smiled and introduced herself, "I'm Helen."

Percy was surprised at the kindness behind her words. The way Annabeth said her name, one would think she was a minotaur or something. He expected to at least see some anger towards the bad boy flirting with her daughter.

"Percy Jackson. Nice to meet you, Mrs. Chase." Percy walked forward and shook her hand. He was aware of her scrutinous gaze looking over him.

"Please, just Helen," she said, releasing her hand and walking further into the kitchen.

Two young boys that looked the same chased each other into the room and stopped in front of Percy. They stood and stared at him while the other began to poke him in the stomach. He wasn't doing it hard, but he had a conveniently placed bruise right there that ached with every touch.

"Annie," began the one who was just staring, "Is this your... boyfriend." He turned and looked at her with a devilish grin as she her blush returned.

"No! We're just friends," she said, a little too quickly.

The one who was poking him paused for a moment before saying, "I'm Bobby."

"I'm Matthew!" the other one said, running circles around Percy. He quickly took note of the small scar on his chin and tried to remember that it belonged to Matthew, not Bobby. That was the only difference he could see between the boys.

"Is it okay if Percy stays for dinner?" Annabeth asked.

"Of course!" Helen answered, opening the cupboard. "I was thinking breakfast for dinner. How does that sound, Percy?"

Percy smiled and replied, "That's actually my favorite."

"Good!" She set out a box of pancake mix and some bacon. "Annabeth would you mind getting it started while I go change?"

Percy saw Annabeth tighten her lips slightly as she agreed and turned the stove on. Bobby and Matthew chased each other upstairs to, Percy assumed, their bedroom.

"Percy you can sit in the living room while you wait if you want," she said.

"Nonsense. As you know, I'm practically the master chef over at Coco's Cafe."

She laughed and said, "Well, in that case, you do the pancakes. I'll get the bacon and eggs."

Percy started to mix the ingredients before he remembered, "Oh. Where's your food coloring?"

"What?" she asked, turning to look at him from her position at the stove.

"The coloring for the food," he replied, smirking at her. She playfully rolled her eyes and opened a cupboard above him. She stood on her tiptoes and just barely managed to grab a small box with four dyes.

"Thank you very much," he said taking the box from her. He sorted through them until he found a blue one and put a few drops in the pancake mix. He gingerly put it back in the cupboard and began mixing once more.

"Blue pancakes?" she asked him.

"Mmhmm."

"Doesn't it make your tongue blue?"

"What's wrong with being blue?" he asked her, pausing his mixing.

She laughed and replied, "Well you'll get some strange looks unless you're a smurf or a member of the Blue Man Group." She laid the bacon out on the stove and almost immediately, the kitchen smelled wonderful.

"Hey Annabeth."

"Hmm?" she turned her face slightly to show she was paying attention, but her eyes were still on her pan. Percy took his batter filled scraper and gently dolloped the blue mixture on her nose.

"Now you're blue. Not so bad, huh? Does this look seem strange?" he grinned and made a dumb face as she turned to him in shock and her eyes became a determined gray. His grin quickly disappeared as he became slightly afraid.

"We'll see who's the blue one," she lunged forward and used filled the scraper with batter.

"Agh!" Percy ran to the other side of the kitchen, but not before she caught his cheek with the scraper. He laughed and grabbed a spoon from the counter. He ran back to the bowl that she was guarding to get more ammo. She was painting his face blue while he scooped some batter, but as soon as he was armed, he dropped the scoop onto her forehead. He saw it drip down her temple and he ran once again.

It wasn't until they smelled burnt bacon that their war halted. At that point, they were both so blue, they really could've passed for smurfs. The batter was all in their hair and clothes, they were practically the definition of a mess. Percy looked at Annabeth once all was calm and found himself smiling. She had blue all over her hair and face, but she had never looked better.

And as they were standing there, panting from the efforts of their pancake war, Percy realized he was completely, hopelessly, falling in love with Annabeth Chase.

* * *

Annabeth POV

Percy and Annabeth had both taken turns washing up in the bathroom after dinner. While she waited for him, she was thinking about him. She couldn't decide if she was worried about their chemistry, or excited about it. She knew he was different now, but what if he changed back to the jerk? He would surely break her heart. She didn't mind that she was falling for the goofball; she just didn't want to also be falling for the asshole.

Even though she was doubting herself, she couldn't help but smile when she thought of him. He just made her laugh so much, she loved it. When she was around him, she felt more like herself than ever before. She didn't even mind getting soaked in blue pancake batter, and she was a class A neatfreak.

"Alright Wise Girl," Percy's voice said from the hallway. "I'm ready to read." He walked into her room with his shirt splotchy from his attempts to clean it.

She smiled and pulled a battered book off of her bookshelf. She really needed a bigger one, that one looked like it would explode. The book was her favorite when she was teaching herself to read, so she was hoping he liked it.

She handed him the book and watched as he cocked an eyebrow and looked at her in amused confusion.

"Twilights from the Garden?" he asked, reading the title. He sat down on the window seat and brought his knees up, leaning his back against the wall.

"It was my favorite book for awhile there," she said, grabbing a book of her own and mirroring his position on the bench so they were looking directly across from one another.

"Is this a romantic book?" he asked, looking up at her.

"What gave you that idea?"

"Hmm. Maybe it was the ripped shirtless guy making out with this girl, though, I could be wrong," he laughed and flashed the cover at her.

It did in fact have a cheesy, shirtless guy on the cover to make you swoon. Not gonna lie, it worked. She laughed along with him and looked out the window. She gave Percy a few pointers on what she tried to do while reading to make it easier, and she opened her own book.

It wasn't long before Percy laughed again, digging Annabeth out of her concentration.

"What?" she asked, smiling at his amusement.

Suddenly Percy said, "'I didn't think I could love you more than I did yesterday," Annabeth froze in shock at his words before she recognized the line from the book. "but then I saw you today, and I fell all over again'. I'm worried what will happen to this guy tomorrow!" He laughed and looked at her, waiting for her laughter to chime in.

It took her a moment to say, "Don't tease my favorite books!" She forced a bit of laughter to hide her embarassment. Did she really think he would say that? Percy Jackson would never subject himself to romantic lines like that. Right?

"It's such a cheesy line!" he said, ignoring the book completely, his eyes never leaving her face. His scrutinous gaze was making the butterflies in her stomach go crazy.

"It's _romantic_ ," she stressed, ignoring her own book.

" _Cheesy_ ," he said, leaning towards her with his lips wearing that half smirk that drove her crazy.

She leaned forward and said, "It's romantic and you know it."

"Really? Because I can smell the jarlsberg from here." He put his hands to his side so he could lean even closer. It was almost like a game. He would move forward, and she would do the same. Soon, they were only a few inches apart, and Annabeth was very conscious of her breath. She felt her stomach tug towards him, and she wondered what would happen if she closed the small distance between them. She had to make a conscious effort not to give into her temptations.

They paused as they both realized the position they were in. Annabeth was worried he would be able to hear her heart pounding. She licked her lips and searched his eyes. She felt like she could see straight into his soul.

"I guess," she watched his throat move as he swallowed. "romantic isn't so bad," he softly whispered. His eyes darted so fast to her lips, she almost didn't catch it. Her own lips tingled with anticipation, and she watched as he ever so slowly moved closer to her. Was he going to kiss her?

She stared into his beautiful green eyes. How does one get such pretty eyes? They looked like they were swirling with color. She could get lost in those eyes. She saw them slowly start to close, and hers began to do the same. She felt his breath on her nose, and she just kept leaning, and leaning, and leaning.

"How's it going, kids?" Helen burst into the room and the two shot away from each other. There was a crack as Percy's head smacked against the wall, and Annabeth felt her back hit the wall. First the porch and now this. How did she always know the worst times to open damn doors?

"Oww," Percy rubbed the back of his head and closed his eyes in pain.

"Are you okay?" Annabeth and Helen asked at the same time. Percy nodded, but Helen still had to confirm with her own eyes that there was no blood.

"So..." she began after everything had calmed down. "How's the... _reading_ going?" She looked at them both with arched eyebrows and a smirk.

"Great," Percy said giving a thumbs up. He was sitting at perfect attention at the very end of the bench. He looked as though he would jump out the window if either of them moved any closer.

"Yup. Peachy." Annabeth tried to give Helen a hint with her eyes. _Get._ _Out_. She made eye contact with Annabeth and seemed to understand.

"Well I'll just leave you two at it, then." With that, she walked out the door, but it was a few moments before Annabeth released the breath she didn't know she was holding. She hadn't even realized she was pushing her fingernails into her palms until she saw bright red drip down her wrist. Percy noticed this too.

"I see you do that a lot," he said, looking at her palm.

"Yeah, I just... I don't know. I guess I do it when I'm stressed," Annabeth replied, standing to get a bandaid from her desk.

His eyes had a mischevious glint to them as he asked, "You're stressed right now?" He gave her a famous Percy Jackson half smirk. She blushed as she realized she talked herself into a corner.

"I'm always stressed when she's around," she answered, avoiding the obviously stressful situation that just happened.

His eyes turned genuine when he asked, "Why?"

As she looked into his seagreen eyes, she found she couldn't lie to him. Well, maybe she could lie to him, but not to those eyes. "She just..." she started, suddenly looking everywhere but those beautiful eyes. "She expects everything I do to be perfect, but... I'm just... I'm not perfect. And she doesn't get that."

She waited a moment for him to say something, and when he was silent, she looked back to his face. He looked conflicted, like he was fighting himself. Now, he was the one not meeting her eyes. What was he thinking? She tried searching his eyes, but he wouldn't look at her.

"Annabeth, you..." he cleared his throat and met her eyes, looking like he made a decision. "You may not be exactly perfect, no one is... but you're pretty damn close."

She didn't think she'd ever blush as much as she was right then. He thought she was almost perfect? The thought put a smile on her face, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't smother it. She wished they were leaning again, because this time, she wouldn't let Helen ruin the moment.

"I'm sorry your mom-" he started before she cut him off.

"She's not my mom."

His eyebrows shot up in surprise as he replied, "Oh. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed."

"No... It's okay. My dad married her a few years after my mom died," Annabeth heard her voice go numb as she mentioned her mom. Percy moved closer and gently put a calming hand on her shoulder. He seemed hesitant to touch her, but once he did, his hand melted onto her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Annabeth. I'm sorry someone that important was taken from you." She felt his concerned gaze watching her, and she realized that she didn't want to have a sad moment right now.

"No. It's fine. It was awhile ago," she said, looking up and meeting his eyes. They radiated sadness and comfort.

"It's not fine," he said with finality. She agreed with that. It wasn't fine, but for now, sitting here with him, she was fine.

After a moment, she pulled herself away from his eyes and cleared her throat. She saw Percy look at his watch as he picked up his book.

"I should probably get home." Annabeth felt a sinking feeling in her heart as he said that. She desperately didn't want him to go.

"I can drive you," she stood up and grabbed her keys. "You can borrow the book. Let me know how you like it."

Percy smiled and led the way out the door. He thanked her parents and said goodbye to her brothers before they walked out.

As they rode down the streets, Percy would periodically tell her she could just drop him off at this corner, or that sign, but Annabeth refused. She wanted to take him all the way to his house. She didn't want him to walk alone in the dark, but she also selfishly wanted to know where he lived. She thought it was important to know where people she cared about lived.

Percy pointed at a house and Annabeth began to slow down. They were really this close to each other? The distance between their houses was only a few blocks. She could walk between the two in ten minutes.

"Thanks, Annabeth. For the book, and inviting me to dinner." Percy smiled and seemed rushed to get out of the car.

"Of course. I'll see you tomorrow," she said out the window as he got out. He stood on the sidewalk and tried to wave her off. She always liked to wait for people to walk inside to make sure they weren't locked out. She waved back at him, but stayed put. He realized she wasn't budging and he slowly began to walk up the sidewalk, turning his head to look if she was still there multiple times.

Once he reached the door, he waved at her again, signaling her to leave. She just smiled and waved back, still not moving. Percy took the hint and opened his front door just enough for him to slip through. That was good enough for her. She smiled at the thought of their night together before she realized the time: 10:12. Ugh. She had _so_ much homework.

* * *

 **Wow that was so long! I just couldn't stop in the middle of all the chemistry! Speaking of that, there was sooooo much tension between them I loved writing it. Those crazy kids, amiright? Please review and tell me what you thought of PERCABETH. :D**


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